^; ' 

1 

i     f 

s^t^ 

« 

1                1 
in 

CO 

'^M.^ 

t-D 

'^  '? 

r- 

1^ 

^^      r<^ 

xH        +J 

^ 

^1 

•St 

|Z5^ 

O 

Eh 

^v3 
-^^t^, 

60 
.gell 

earn 

i 

CO  c 

•H 

-fe* 

M 

^^ 

<N   C 

^ 

^ 
PM 

^ 

•  o      a 

i 

^ 

rH                 :3 

i           ^ 

o  wo^  u 

% 

1 

Tji  0)  in        I 

eoo  <D 

% 

>^s^ 

>   tOrH^ 

'^ 

^ 

PQ^^        EH 

1 

^ 

THE 


CHURCH  IN  EARNEST 


JOHN   ANGELL   JAMES, 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  CHURCH  MEMBER'S  GUIDE,  ETC. 


ELEVENTH    THOUSAND. 


BOSTON: 
aOUT.r>    AND    LINCOLN, 

59    WASHINQTON    STREET. 

NEW  YORK:    SHELDON    AND  COMPANY. 

CINCINNATI :  GEO.  S.  BLANCHARD. 

1860. 


PREFACE. 


Last  year  I  ventured  to  publish  a  little  work,  entitled, 
'  An  Earnest  Ministry  the  Want  of  the  Times."  Most  of 
the  Reviews  which  did  me  the  honor  of  criticising  it  char- 
acterized and  recommended  it  as  a  pr actual  work.  Whether 
this  were  intended  in  the  way  of  depreciation  or  information, 
it  most  aptly  describes  the  production,  which  contains  no 
profound  disquisition  —  no  new  views  —  no  development  ot 
abstract  principles,  and  wliich  pretends  to  nothing  more  than 
a  humble  effort,  made  in  love,  to  stir  up  the  pure  minds  of 
ray  brethren,  by  way  of  remembrance,  and  to  furnish  a  few 
practical  directions  to  beginners  in  the  ministry. 

Every  one  who  writes  to  do  good,  and  who  yields  to  the 
impulse  which  says  to  him,  "  Do  something ;  do  it ;"  should 
well  consider,  not  only  what  he  would  do,  but  what  he  can 
do ;  should  study,  not  only  his  obligations,  but  his  talents, 
his  opportunities,  and  his  means.  It  was  a  wise  plan  of 
action  which  the  Psalmist  laid  down  for  himself,  when  he 
said,  "  Neither  do  I  exercise  myself  in  things  too  high  for 
me."  On  this  rule  I  have  uniformly  endeavored  to  act,  in 
all  my  attempts  at  authorship.  If  I  have  any  talent  for 
usefulness,  it  is  essentially  a  practical  one.  I  will  not  con- 
ceal that  t  have  been  sometimes  almost  tempted  to  envy 
those  who  possess  greater  power  of  abstract  thinking.  This 
is  a  noble  faculty,  and  the  men  to  whom  it  is  given  perform 
services  for  truth  which  are  invaluable,  and,  indeed,  indis- 
pensable; they  explain  its  nature  —  unfold  its  beauty  — 
defend  it  against  the  attacks  of  error  —  and  establish  prin- 
ciples to  be  applied  by  those  who  could  neither  so  clearly 
discover,  nor  so  ably  sustain  them.  Practical  men,  howev- 
er, are  as  useful'  in  their  place  as  ingenious  and  contempla- 
tive ones ;  and  if  their  department  be  a  more  humble,  yet 
it  is  not  a  less  necessary,  one,  than  that  of  theorists,  philoso- 
phers, and  logicians.  There  must  be  the  hands  to  work  the 
engine,  as  well  an  the  mind  to  invent  it. 


rV  PREFACE. 

In  the  exercise  of  this  my  vocation,  I  now  send  forth 
anotaer  work,  no  less  practical  than  the  one  which  immedi- 
ately preceded  it,  or  than  several  others,  the  products  of  my 
pen.  The  pubhcation  of  the  volume  on  "  An  Earnest  Min- 
istry," brought  to  me  many  and  urgent  applications  for  a 
similar  one,  addressed  to  the  Churches.  When  I  considered 
these  appeals,  I  foresaw,  what  I  have  since  experienced,  the 
difficulty  of  keeping  clear,  in  this  work,  of  some  of  the  topics 
involved  in  the  subject  of  its  predecessor.  That  difficulty 
I  have  not  been  able  altogether  to  avoid.  The  earnestness 
cf  the  ministry,  and  the  earnestness  of  the  people,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  same  great  object,  are,  on  so  many  points,  coin- 
cident, that  it  was  neither  possible,  if  it  had  been  desirable, 
nor  desirable,  had  it  been  possible,  to  avoid  the  repetition  of 
some  views  and  counsels  common  to  both.  Yet,  even  after 
this  explanation,  I  anticipate  a  complaint  that  several  por- 
tions of  this  work  are  but  a  republication  of  some  portions 
of  the  other.  I  cannot  altogether  deny  the  charge,  and  can 
only  observe,  in  addition  to  what  has  been  already  just 
stated,  that  as  the  volumes  are  intended  for  two  different 
classes  of  persons,  comparatively  few  wall  read  both ;  and 
that,  though  in  some  places  the  same  topics  are  taken  up, 
the  discussion  and  the  illustrations  are  considerably  varied. 

To  the  publication  of  thi«»  work  I  have  been  stimulated 
by  an  able  critique  in  the  "British  Quarterly  Ke\'iew,"  for 
February  last,  entitled,  "  The  Christian  Mmistry,  and  how 
to  mend  it."  In  that  essay  occurs  the  follo\%ing  remark, 
"  We  confess,  however,  that  we  have  been  prompted,  in  great 
part,  to  the  writing  of  this  paper,  by  a  fear,  lest,  while  the 
responsibilities  of  the  pulpit  are  discussed,  those  of  the  pew 
should  be  forgotten ;  for  assuredly  while  an  earnest  ministry 
may  conduce  to  an  earnest  church,  it  is  only  as  we  possess 
both,  we  shall  possess  an  earnest  and  powerful  Christianity." 

To  the  wisdom,  truth,  and  importance  of  this  momentous 
paragraph,  I  most  heartily  subscribe,  and  in  the  hope  of 
promoting  the  union  and  harmony  which  it  recommends, 
nave  addressed  this  volume  to  the  occupant  of  the  pew,  as 
I  did  the  former  to  the  occupant  ci  the  pulpit.  Earnestness 
is  equally  the  duty  of  both,  and  so  close  is  the  sympathy 
between  them,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  for  the  one  to  be, 
or  to  continue  long,  in  a  state  of  full  devotedness,  if  the  other 
be  not  in  a  similar  condition.  Even  the  seraphic  ardor  of 
a  minister  who  is  as  a  flame  of  fire,  will  soon  be  in  danger 


PREFACE.  V 

of  coding  down  to  the  lukewarmness  of  the  flocK,  if  his 
efforts  are  unsuccessful  in  raising  their  spiritual  teinpera- 
ture  to  his  own. 

It  is  more  than  probable  that  some  persons  wiU  be  of 
opinion  that  I  underestimate  the  piety  of  the  present  gener- 
ation of  professors,  and  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  church — 
that  I  have  written  m  too  desponding  a  tone  —  and  that  in 
adverting  to  defects  and  imperfections,  I  have  not  done  jus- 
tice to  acknowledged  excellences.  In  reply,  I  observe,  that 
my  object  is  not  so  much  to  compare  the  piety  of  the  age 
with  that  of  any  antecedent  one,  which  is  an  extremely  dif- 
ficult attempt,  as  with  the  standard  set  up  in  the  Word  of 
God,  for  all  times,  and  for  all  states  of  society.  I  have  fol- 
lowed, what  appears  to  me  to  be,  the  precedents  of  our 
Lord's  addresses  to  the  seven  churches  in  Asia,  and  the 
apostolical  epistles  to  the  primitive  churches ;  in  which, 
while  the  good  is  acknowledged  and  commended,  the  evil 
also,  is  disclosed  and  condemned.  How  much  of  complaint, 
expostulation,  and  reproof,  do  we  find  in  these  solemn  and 
faithful  appeals  to  the  churches  of  those  days !  A  weak  and 
foohsh  love,  which  sees  no  fault  in  the  object  of  its  blind 
afiection,  deals  only  in  flattery  and  caresses  ;  while  a  judi- 
cious regard,  which  is  jealous  for  the  honor  of  its  object,  and 
wishes  to  advance  it  to  perfection,  is  in  danger  of  being  too 
impatient  under  a  sense  of  its  defects. 

Some  of  my  readers  will  also  accuse  me  of  magnifying 
the  dangers  to  which  the  evangelical  system  is  hkely  to  be 
ekposed  in  this  and  the  coming  age,  from  popery,  infidelity ^^ 
and  false  philosophy.  In  this  I  have  acted  upon  the  truth 
of  the  proverb,  that  <'  to  be  forewarned  is  to  be  forearmed." 
The  man  who,  in  such  an  age  as  this,  folds  his  arms,  closes 
his  eyes,  falls  back  in  liis  chair,  and  lulls  himself  to  sleep, 
with  the  easy  consciousness  that  there  is  no  need  of  alarm, 
vigilance,  and  caution,  must  have  powers  of  observation,  or 
methods  of  calculation,  very  different  from  mine.  Recent 
events,  I  know,  it  is  said,  are  most  inauspicious  for  popery. 
Be  it  so :  but  do  we  imagine  that  it  is  dead  ?  Have  we  for- 
gotten how  it  recovered  from  a  deeper,  and  seemingly  more 
deadly  wound,  inflicted  upon  it  by  the  first  revolution  of 
France  ?  Moreover,  is  it  lost  sight  of,  that  though  it  should 
be  destroyed  as  a  temporal  power,  and  should  be  left  by  all 
secular  governments  to  take  care  of  itself,  its  spiritual  poten- 
cy to  fascinate  and  to  seduce  men  still  remains  ?  Consider- 
1* 


VI  PREFACE. 

ing  what  has  occurred,  and  is  still  going  on,  in  this  land  of 
liberty,  science,  philosophy,  and  commerce,  shall  we  smile 
at  the  fears  of  those  who  -dread  an  increase  of  this  perni- 
cious system  ?  As  regards  infidelity  and  false  philosophy, 
that  man  must  be  a  recluse,  and  know  nothing  of  the  pro- 
gress of  events,  who  is  ignorant  of  the  rapid  advance  which 
these  foes  of  the  Bible  are  making  in  society.  Let  the  state- 
ments which  will  be  found  in  the  following  pages  be  atten- 
tively considered,  and  then  say  if  they  who  ke2p  watch  and 
ward  on  the  towers  of  Zion  ought  not  to  sound  the  alarm 
of  an  approaching  foe  ? 

Danger  ?  Of  what  ?  Not  indeed  of  the  downfall  of  either 
Christianity  or  Protestantism.  "What  believer  in  the  truth 
of  revelation,  or  what  follower  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
Reformation,  has  a  moment's  solicitude  on  that  point  ?  I, 
for  one,  feel  not  a  single  trepidation  for  the  safety  of  either 
of  these.  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  final,  complete,  and  glo- 
rious triumph  of  truth  over  error,  and  good  over  evil.  Not- 
withstanding the  vicissitudes  of  human  affairs,  and  some 
of  them  disastrous  ones  too,  I  am  a  firm  believer  in  the 
onward  course  of  events.  The  way  of  Providence  does  not 
resemble  one  of  our  modern  railways,  but  is  more  like  a 
noble  river,  which  is  ever  winding  in  its  channel,  and  which, 
though,  amidst  its  many  convolutions,  it  seems  sometimes 
rolling  back  upon  its  source,  is  ever  flowing  towards  the 
ocean.  In  such  an  age  as  this,  when  it  would  look  as  if  a 
destroying  angel  were  passing  over  the  despotisms  of  all 
•Europe,  and  making  way  for  the  sudden,  unexpected,  and 
universal  reign  of  liberty,  to  doubt  which  way  the  current 
is  flowing,  betrays  a  deplorable  ignorance  of  the  tendencies 
of  events,  and  of  the  designs  of  the  great  Ruler  of  the 
nations.  But  are  liberty  and  reUgion  identical?  Are  the 
downfall  of  tyranny  and  of  infidehty  sure  to  be  contempo- 
raneous ?  Will  a  false  and  seductive  philosophy  necessarily 
and  immediately  wither  in  the  light  and  air  of  freedom  ? 

It  is  to  be  recollected  that  there  can  be  no  perfect  freedom 
of  conscience,  while  there  is  a  single  fetter  left  upon  the 
expression  of  religious  opinion.  The  utterance  of  a  man's 
thoughts  must  no  more  be  stopped  by  the  stern  interdict  of 
the  law,  than  the  utterance  of  his  breath.  If  the  next  mo- 
ment we  could  destroy,  by  the  power  of  the  sword,  all  the 
infidel  books  in  existence,  we  ought  not  to  do  it.  Christian- 
ity gams  no  honor  by  any  triumph,  nor,  in  the  long  run, 


PREFACE.  VII 

any  power,  but  what  she  fairly  wins  by  argument,  and  the 
blessing  of  Almighty  God.  And  will  her  enemies  be  slow 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  new  liberty  which  they  are  now 
to  have  throughout  Europe,  for  assailing  her?  On  the  con- 
trary, their  troops  v/ill  be  reinforced,  and  with  new  courage 
they  will  advance  to  the  attack.  What  then  ?  Has  Chris- 
tianity anything  to  fear?  Nothing,  for  her  stability  and 
final  triumph.  Founded  on  a  rock,  the  gates  of  hell  cannot 
prevail  against  her.  But,  then,  how  does  she  gain  her  vic- 
tories ?  Not  certainly  by  an  ignorance,  a  denial,  or  a  con- 
tempt, of  the  strength  of  her  foes,  for  they  are  many  and 
mighty.  Not  by  a  careless  security.  Not  by  commanding 
silence  to  the  warders  on  the  keep,  or  ridiculing  and  rebuk- 
ing their  alarms,  when  they  see  the  foe  advancing.  No; 
but  by  sounding  the  trumpet,  calling  upon  the  sacramental 
hosts  to  consider  the  resources  of  the  enemy,  bidding  them 
arm  for  the  conflict,  and  summoning  them  to  her  uplifted 
standard.  Besides,  who  would  not  wish  that  the  final  vic- 
tory of  truth  should  be  won,  with  as  little  loss  as  possible 
to  those  who  are  its  professed  followers  ?  Who  would  not 
desire  to  prevent  even  the  partial  and  temporary  victories 
of  error  ?  And  we  know  that  many  an  army  destined  to 
ultimate  defeat,  has,  for  a  while,  been  successful,  and  inflict- 
ed much  injury  upon  the  troops  by  which  it  was  to  be  in  the 
end  subdued  and  routed.  In  this  view  of  matters,  I  believe 
the  caution  of  the  timid,  when  it  does  not  amount  to  panic, 
may  be  of  some  use,  in  the  way  of  directing  the  courage 
of  the  brave.  Such  is  my  defence  against  those  who  might 
accuse  me  of  magnifying  the  danger  to  which  evangelical 
religion  is  in  this  day  exposed  from  its  triple  foe.  With 
the  calm  and  assured  confidence  of  its  final,  complete,  and 
universal  triumph,  I  combine  what  I  consider  a  well-founded 
dread  of  its  present  and  partial  discomfiture;  and  in  my 
bright  and  joyful  anticipations  of  the  former,  will  not  forget 
to  guard  against  the  latter. 

J.  A.  J. 
Edgbaston, 

April  7th,  1848. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Pagt 
THE  DESIGNS  TO  BE  ACCOMPLISHED   BY  THE  CHURCH,   AS  REGARDS 

THE  PRESENT  WORLD, 13 

CHAPTER  II. 

KEMARKS  ON  THE  EPISTLES  TO  THE  SEVEN  CHURCHES  IN  ASIA, 
TENDING  TO  ILLUSTRATE  THE  NATURE  OP  EARNESTNESS  IN 
RELIGION, 34 

CHAPTER  in. 

NATURE  OP  EARNESTNESS,  VIEWED  WITH  REPERENCE  TO  INDIVID- 
UAL ACTION,  AND  PRIMARILY  AS  REGARDS  PERSONAL  REUGION,      63 

CHAPTER  TV. 

EARNESTNESS  IN  THE  WAY  OF  INDIVIDUAL  EXERTION  AND  DIRECT 

ACTION  FOR  THE  SALVATION  OF  SOULS, 87 

CHAPTER  V. 

CHRISTIAN  EARNESTNESS  IN  FAMILY  RELIGION, 107 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  ACTIVITY  OP  CHURCHES  IN  THEIR  COLLECTIVE  CAPACITY  ;  OR  THE 

DILIGENCE  OP  CHRISTIANS  CONSIDERED  AS  CHURCH  MEMBERS,       131 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  CAUSES    THAT    OPERATE    TO   REPRESS    THIS    EARNESTNESS    OF 

RELIGION, »    •    •     164 

CHAPTER  Vin. 

INDUCEMENTS  TO  EARNESTNESS, 199 

CHAPTER  IX. 

EXAMPLES  OF  EARNESTNESS, 237 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE  MEANS  TO  BE  USED  TO  OBTAIN  A  HIGHER  DEGREE  OP  EABiJEST 

PIETY   IN   THE   CHURCHES, 257 

CHAPTER  XI. 

CONCLUSION — THE  MILLENNIAL  STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH, 283 


THE   CHURCH  IN   EARNEST. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE  DESIGNS  TO  BE  ACCOMPLISHED  BY  THE  CHURCH 
AS  REGARDS  THE  PRESENT  WORLD. 

How  much  of  history,  as  well  as  of  religion ;  how 
much  that  is  momentous  to  man  as  a  pilgrim  to  immor- 
tality, as  well  as  interesting  to  him  as  a  sojourner  upon 
earth,  is  associated  with  that  most  familiar,  yet  most  sig- 
nificant word,  The  Church  :  what  moral  power,  what 
high  destiny,  what  divine  operations  and  exalted  pur- 
poses, are  comprehended  within  its  legitimate  meaning ! 
Vet  no  term  has  been  more  misunderstood,  none  more 
abused.  What  mistakes  have  been  made  about  it ;  what 
controversies  has  it  occasioned ;  what  usurpation,  and 
tyranny,  and  bloodshed,  has  it  been  made  to  sanction! 
and  yet,  if  men  would  drop  their  prejudices,  and  study  the 
subject  in  that  only  volume  which  can  decide  every  ques- 
tion relating  to  it  and  involved  in  it,  how  easily  would 
it  be  understood,  and  how  simply  and  correctly  might  it 
be  stated  !        ^ 

The  church,  according  to  Scripture  testimony,  was  a 
phrase  in  use  before  either  Rome  or  England  was  known 
in  connection  with  Christianity ;  and  must  mean  some- 
thing which  would  have  existed  had  these  places  never 
received  the  gospel ;  and  which  would  still  exist,  if  they 
were  the  next  hour  sunk  to  the  bottom  of  the  ocean.  To 
appropriate  this  appellation,  therefore,  to  either  of  the  ec- 
clesiastical organizations  bearing  these  names,  and  to  call 
the  Romish  or  the  English  communions  "TAe  church," 
is  as  great  an  impropriety  as  it  would  be  to  apply  it  to 
designate  the  Methodist,  the  IndepencJent,  or  the  Baptist 


14  THE    DESIGNS    TO 

body  There  is  a  wider  signification  of  the  term,  which 
enters  into  all  systems  of  polity,  gathering  out  of  them 
those  who  "through  grace  have  believed,"  and  contem- 
plating them  apart  from  their  sectional  distinctions,  asso- 
ciates them  together  by  no  other  bond  than  the  "  like 
precious  faith,"  and  views  them  as  possessing  the  com- 
mon salvation  —  there  is  "  The  church." 

It  is  in  this  sense  the  word  is  to  be  understood  in  this 
volume :  as  meaning  that  part  of  the  mighty  aggregate 
of  God's  redeemed  people,  who  are  still  on  earth,  "  work- 
ing out  their  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling,"  and  who 
are  "  the  pillar  and  ground  of  truth."  Beneath  the  thin 
covering  of  denominational  distinctions,  there,  in  all  the 
true  believers  in  Christ  which  they  contain,  lies  the  true 
church.  These  sects  comprise  the  reahty,  contain  the 
divine  idea,  but  they  are  not  identical  with  it.  The  fun- 
damental creed  of  the  true  church  is  held  by  them  all  ahke : 
and  that  faith  which  is  essential  to  the  church's  existence 
is  also  in  them  all  alike.  There  is  much  in  each  that  is  not 
of  the  church,  and  there  is  much  in  each  that  is.  The  true 
link  of  membership  and  union  is  nothing  sacerdotal,  or  cer 
emonial,  or  political,  but  something  moral  and  spiritual 
Other  things  may  be  necessary  to  regulate  the  social  rela 
tions  of  the  various  bodies  of  its  professed  members,  and 
to  direct  their  intercourse  and  operations  —  hence  forms  of 
polity  and  ceremonial  observances  —  but  the  church  itself 
consists  of  all  "  who  worship  God  in  the  Spirit,  rejoice  in 
Christ  Jesus,  and  have  no  confidence  in  the  flesh." 

What  a  community  !  A  something  divine  amidst  what 
is  human  —  a  heavenly  citizenship  on  earth  —  an  eter- 
nal production  of  Omnipotent  love,  surrounded  by  the  ever 
perishing  vanities  of  what  is  seen  and  temporal. 

Such  is  the  church,  —  a  kingdom,  not  of  this  world, 
chosen  by  the  Father,  redeemed  by  the  Son,  and  sanctified 
by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  set  up  to  be  to  the  praise  of  his 
glory,  "  who  worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his 
own  will,"  as  "  an  habitation  of  God  through  the  Spirit." 
None  but  God  himself  can  adequately  understand,  much 
less  fully  comprehend,  the  vast  importance,  the  intrinsic 
worth,  the  real  glory,  of  this  community  :  divested  of  all 


BE    ACCOMPLISHED.  15 

those  foreigTi,  impure,  and  disfig-uring  accietions  which 
ignorance  and  superstition,  fraud  and  ambition,  have  gath- 
ered around  it,  it  is  a  crown  of  glory  and  a  diadem  of 
beauty  in  the  hand  of  our  God.  How  has  this  venera- 
ble and  sacred  name  been  abused  and  prostituted  to  sanc- 
tion the  principles,  and  abet  the  designs,  of  ecclesiastical 
t)rranny  ;  to  inflame  the  darkest  passions  and  perpetrate  the 
foulest  deeds  ;  to  subvert  the  liberties  of  mankind,  and 
arrest  the  progress  of  social  improvement ;  till  "  the 
church"  has  become  the  reproach  of  religion,  the  scoff 
of  infidelity,  and  the  deepest  blot  of  history  !  But  this 
is  not  the  church,  and  the  organizations  which  have  called 
themselves  such  have  but  usurped  an  honor  which  does 
not  belong  to  them. 

It  is  quite  time  for  all  professing  Christians  to  begin 
to  think  more  of  the  church,  as  recognized  by  its  divine 
Head,  and  less  of  their  church,  as  limited  by  their  pecu- 
harities.  They  can  never  answer  the  end  and  purpose 
for  which  this  community  is  set  up  in  the  world,  till  they 
better  understand  its  nature.  As  long  as  they  lose  what 
is  universal  in  what  is  partial ;  what  is  catholic  in  what 
is  denominational ;  what  is  essential  in  what  is  circum- 
stantial—  in  short,  as  long  as  forms  of  polity,  however 
important  in  their  place,  rather  than  fundamental  truths, 
constitute,  in  their  view,  the  basis  of  the  church,  the 
grand  designs  of  God  in  reference  to  his  kingdom  upon 
earth  cannot  be  fully  carried  out,  and  the  end  of  its  exist- 
ence must  be  in  some  measure  lost. 

What,  then,  is  the  design  which  God  intends  the 
church  to  accomplish  in  this  world,  and  with  relation  to 
the  world  ? 

There  is  a  subjective  design  which  refers  to  itself,  — 
this  is  obviously  its  own  salvation.  God,  in  the  exuber- 
ance of  his  love,  and  in  the  riches  of  his  mercy,  has  de- 
termmed  to  save,  through  the  mediation  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  all  those  who  repent  and  beHeve.  These  he  will 
redeem  by  the  blood  of  the  cross,  and  the  grace  of  the 
Spirit,  from  the  guilt,  power,  and  love  of  sin,  from  death 
and  hell,  and  bring  into  a  state  of  favor  and  hoUness  here, 
and  to  the  fehcities  and  honors  of  heaven  hereafter  :  and 


16  THE    DESIGNS    TO 

all  this  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his  own  grace,  wisr 
dom,  truth  and  justice. 

But  we  now  speak  of  the  objective  purpose  of  the 
church,  so  far  as  this  purpose  applies  to  our  world 
This  is  two-fold  —  it  is  designed  to  be  a  witnessing 
and  a  proselyting  church  —  to  be,  in  other  words,  the 
depository  and  the  herald  of  truth. 

The  first  part  of  its  mission  is  to  receive  the  truth,  and 
bear  testimony  for  God  in,  and  to,  our  world.  The  uni- 
verse is  full  of  witnesses  for  its  divine  Creator.  "  There 
is  one  important  respect  in  which  all  its  objects,  from  the 
atom  to  the  arch-angel,  unite — all  are  witnesses  foi 
God."  "  The  heavens  declare  his  glory,  and  the  firma- 
ment showeth  forth  his  handy-work. ' '  Everything  on  oui 
earth,  by  silent  yet  expressive  testimony,  speaks  of  God, 
and  for  him.  Science,  the  great  prophet  and  expoundei 
of  nature,  and  all  her  sons,  bear  constant,  though  in  some 
instances  reluctant,  testimony  for  him  who  created  all 
things  by  his  power.  Chemistry  bears  witness  to  his 
wisdom,  astronomy  to  his  immensity,  and  geology  to  his 
eternity.  On  every  leaf,  on  every  blade,  and  every  peb- 
ble. He  has  written  his  name  and  impressed  his  character, 
so  that  while  the  solitary  voice  and  gloomy  lie  of  the 
atheist  are  saying  there  is  no  God,  the  million  voices 
around  contradict  him,  and  even  the  pulses  of  his  own 
heart,  and  every  atom  of  that  organ,  contradict  him  and 
say,  "  There  is,  and  He  is  thy  Maker." 

But  there  are  other  witnesseg  for  God,  who  give  forth 
a  fuller  and  more  impressive  testimony  than  the  material 
universe,  viewed  as  a  whole,  or  contemplated  in  its  sep- 
arate parts.  To  the  question,  "What  is  God  as  to  his 
moral  character,  and  his  disposition  towards  the  sinful  in- 
habitants of  our  globe,"  this  oracle  is  dumb  :  to  the  in- 
quiry, "  How  shall  man  be  just  with  God,"  no  response 
is  given  forth.  The  sun  with  all  his  glory,  the  moon 
with  all  her  beauty,  and  the  earth  with  all  its  various  con- 
tents, deliver  no  testimony  of  mercy  for  fallen,  guilty 
man.  For  this  high  purpose  is  the  church  raised  up  ; 
this  is  her  momentous  vocation,  her  solemn  duty,  her  bles- 
sed privilege.     "  She  is  first  a  focus  in  which  all  light 


BE   ACCOMPLISHED.  17 

from  heaven  should  meet,  and  all  the  sanctified  excellence 
of  heart  be  collected  and  combined  ;  that  it  might  next 
be  a  centre  whence  the  Hght  of  truth  might  radiate  and 
pour  forth  in  all  directions  over  the  face  of  the  earth." 

First  of  all,  there  is  the  divine  Head  of  the  church 
himself.  Of  him  it  was  predicted,  "  He  shall  be  for  a 
witness  to  the  people."  He  claimed  this  prerogative  ; 
he  asserted  this  to  be  his  mission,  when  standing  at  the 
bar  of  Pilate.  "  To  this  end  was  I  bom,  and  for  this 
cause  came  I  into  the  world,  that  I  should  bear  witness  to 
the  truth."  The  same  mission  is  claimed  for  him  by 
the  beloved  apostle,  where  he  calls  him  "  the  faithful  and 
true  witness."  He  is  personally  the  true  tabernacle  of 
witness,  in  whom  dwelt  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead 
bodily.  He  came  from  the  bosom  of  the  Father  to  reveal 
the  nature,  plans,  purposes,  and  the  work  of  God.  He 
is  "  Me  Word',"  the  great  prophet,  the  "  true  light  which 
lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world."  In  the 
mysterious  constitution  of  his  person,  and  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  mediatorial  work  by  his  death,  resurrec- 
tion and  intercession,  he  stands  before  the  universe  as  an 
embodiment  of  truth.  The  mingled  glories  of  the  divine 
nature,  and  the  full  revelation  of  the  divine  plans,  stream 
forth  from  his  cross,  as  a  comprehensive  and  sublime 
testimony  to  all  that  is  necessary  for  man  to  know  and 
believe  in  order  to  salvation. 

Next  to  him,  comes  the  goodly  company  of  the  apos- 
tles, to  repeat  in  echo  the  testimony  of  Christ ;  and  not 
only  by  their  living  voice,  but  by  their  inspired  and  immor- 
tal writings,  to  send  to  the  uttermost  ends  of  the  earth, 
and  down  to  the  latest  posterity,  the  witness  of  the  So» 
of  God. 

But  neither  the  Lord  Jesus,  nor  his  apostles,  are  the 
church,  and  it  is  the  whole  church  to  whom  God  says, 
"  Ye  are  my  witnesses."  It  is  the  whole  body  of  the 
faithful,  "  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first- 
born," to  whom  this  momentous  commission  is  intrusted, 
on  whom  this  solemn  duty  is  devolved.  We  must  ever 
think  of  the  truths  to  which  the  witness  of  the  church  is 
to  be  borne.  The  unity,  spirituality,  attribij«£s,  and 
2 


18    -  THE    DESIGNS    TO 

works  of  the  Eternal  Father  —  the  divinity  and  nediation 
of  Christ  —  the  personahty,  divinity,  and  operations  of 
I  he  Spirit  —  the  doctrines  of  regeneration  and  justifica- 
tion —  the  greatness  and  attainableness  of  salvation  — 
the  necessity  of  holy  obedience  —  the  reahty  and  glory  of 
eternal  life  for  the  righteous  —  and  the  certainty  of  eter- 
nal death  for  the  wicked.  Such  is  in  substance  the  truth 
10  which  the  company  of  the  redeemed  are  to  depose  be- 
fore a  dark  and  wicked  world.  Such  are  the  verities  in 
support  of  which  the  voice  of  the  church  is  to  be  lifted 
up  on  our  earth. .  Viewing  man  as  a  moral  agent,  a  sin- 
ful creature,  a  ruined  immortal,  what  to  him  are  all  the 
facts  and  wonders  of  science,  compared  with  these 
things,  but  as  the  trifle  of  a  moment,  the  small  dust  of 
the  balance  ? 

Such  is  the  vocation  of  every  single  Christian,  however 
voung,  or  poor,  or  uneducated,  to  hold  up  these  realities 
before  the  minds  of  men,  and  attest  their  divine  truth, 
their  power,  and  excellence.  Hence  the  descriptions 
given  by  the  apostle  of  the  design  and  business  of  the 
church,  where  he  calls  her,  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the 
truth.  Not  that  the  church  either  originates  or  accredit? 
the  truth, —  not  that  it  constitutes  the  obligation  of  obey- 
ing it,  or  infallibly  and  authoritatively  expounds  its  mean- 
ing, —  but  that  it  is  merely  .the  depository  of  it  for  the 
world,  and  holds  it  up  to  be  seen  and  known  upon  the 
earth.  She  is  the  Pharos  of  the  moral  world,  the  light- 
house of  this  dairk  region,  exhibiting  to  public  notice,  and 
for  general  observation,  all  those  subjects  which  stand 
connected  with  man's  highest  obligations,  dearest  inter- 
ests, and  immortal  hopes.  This  high  vocation,  this  holy 
mission,  she  is  to  fulfil  by  sustaining  the  Christian  minis- 
try ;  by  keeping  safely  her  creeds,  catechisms,  and  other 
formularies  ;  by  looking  well  to  the  education  of  her 
children  ;  by  taking  care  for  the  instruction  of  her  mem- 
bers in  Christian  doctrine  and  duty  ;  by  holding  fast  the 
form  of  sound  words,  and  attaching  importance  to  right 
sentiments  ;  by  giving  encouragement  to  orthodox  litera- 
ture ;  by  "  contending  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  deliv- 
ered to  the  saints  ;"  in, short,  by  every  way  in  which  an 


BE    ACCOMPLISHED.  19 

intelligent  and  firm  yet  catholic  spirited  and  tolerant  zeal 
for  truth  can  be  maintained  and  diffused.  Every  (/liris- 
tian  man  and  woman  mi  st  consider  that  it  is  by  the  truth 
the  world  is  to  be  converted  to  Christ,  and  all  the  pur- 
poses of  divine  grace  fulfilled,  and  that  they  are  called  to 
be  the  conservators  of  that  truth.  "  He  that  believeth 
hath  the  witness  [or  testimony]  in  himself."  He  has  it 
as  a  sacred  deposit  laid  up  in  his  mind,  to  be  ever  carried 
about  with  him  wherever  he  goes,  and  is  to  watch  it  with 
the  same  care  as  he  would  if  he  were  individually  the 
last  light  of  the  world,  and  the  only  remaining  witness 
for  God  upon  the  face  of  the  earth. 

How  high  and  honorable  a  vocation  !  but  withal  how 
awful  and  responsible  its  duty  —  to  bear  witness  for  God  '. 
To  be  called  to  the  work  of  perpetually  bearing  testi- 
mony, before  an  ignorant  and  careless  world,  on  such 
topics  !  To  lift  up,  amidst  the  din  of  politics,  the  bustle 
of  commerce,  the  pretensions  of  science,  and  the  shouts 
of  folly,  a  voice  which  shall  remind  the  busy  and  eager 
throng,  that  there  are  other  and  more  important  matters 
than  these,  which  deserve  and  demand  their  attention  ! 
To  exhibit  truths  that  relate  to  another  world,  and  which 
appeal  exclusively  to  faith,  to  the  men  who  are  wholly 
absorbed  in  objects  of  sense  !  To  obtrude  the  solemn 
verities  of  heaven,  heU,  and  eternity,  upon  the  attention 
of  those  who  mind  earthly  things  !  To  add  the  living 
voice,  the  acting  power  of  a  truthful  and  consistent  exam- 
ple, to  the  silent  testimony  for  God  and  religion  which 
is  borne  by  the  churches  and  chapels  that  are  planted  in 
our  streets,  to  scatter  the  beams  of  divine  truth  over  the 
darkness  of  the  surrounding  scenes ;  while,  at  the  same 
time,  they  open  their  doors  to  welcome  the  inquirers  after 
the  reality  and  repose  of  a  better  world.  This,  this  is 
the  cliurch's  mission  and  vocation  :  for  this  she  is  kept 
upon  earth  to  be  a  witness  for  God,  where  God  is  so 
much  forgotten,  and  to  be  so  far  his  representative  amidst 
his  too  thouglitless  and  disobedient  creatures. 

Already,  then,  does  the  need  of  earnestness  commend 
Itself  to  our  judgment,  and  come  home  to  our  heart  and 
conscience.     Wit'i  what  state  of  mind  should  the  church 


20  THE    DESIGNS    TO 

apply  herself  to  such  a  commission  ?  Is  this  a  •  /ork  to 
be  touched  with  careless  hands,  or  pursued  with  listless 
steps  ?  If,  in  ordinary  and  unimportant  matters,  matters 
which  affect  the  character  and  the  temporal  interests  of 
a  fellow-creature,  witness-bearing  is  esteemed  of  impor- 
tance, and  should  be  entered  upon  with  seriousness,  care, 
and  caution,  how  much  more  so  when  we  are  to  bear 
witness  for  God,  and  deliver  a  testimony  that  must  inevi- 
tably affect  the  eternal  welfare  of  immortal  souls !  If 
false  witnessing  be  branded  with  such  infamy,  when  it  is 
offered  in  cases  that  relate  to  the  character  and  the  well- 
being  of  a  fellow-creature,  what  degree  of  criminality 
must  be  attached  to  the  act  of  bearing  false  witness  for 
God! 

Such  a  view  is  indeed  most  impressive,  and  has  not 
yet  perhaps  received  all  the  attention  due  to  it  from  pro- 
fessing Christians.  The  mission  and  obhgation  of  the 
church  are  the  mission  and  obligation  of  the  individual 
members  of  which  it  is  composed,  for  it  can  in  this  case 
no  otherwise  act  than  by  its  individual  members.  To 
every  reader  of  this  work,  these  considerations  are  now 
addressed.  You,  yes,  you,  personally  and  individually, 
are  intended  to  be  a  witness  for  God  :  have  you  thought 
of  this,  and  are  you  habitually  thinking  of  it?  This  is 
the  end  and  purpose  of  your  conversion :  for  this  you 
are  kept  upon  earth,  instead  of  being  immediately  taken 
to  heaven.  You  are  asked,  yea,  implored,  seriously  to 
consider  and  accurately  to  understand  your  position, 
your  duties,  your  responsibility.  God  detains  you  here 
to  be  a  light  to  the  world,  and  you  can  do  this  only  by 
your  personal  religion.  Think  what  kind  of  religion 
that  ought  to  be  which  is  to  teach  men,  by  what  is  seen 
in  you,  the  nature  of  God,  the  work  of  Christ,  the  cer- 
tainty of  immortality,  the  value  of  salvation.  Thmk 
how  you  ought  to  act  if  you  would  have  it  said  of  you, 
"His  conduct  is  a  true  witness  to  all  these  matters." 
Will  a  lukewarm,  careless,  worldly,  inconsistent  piety 
answer  such  ends  1  Are  you  a  true  or  a  false  witness  ? 
Tremble,  as  you  well  may,  at  the  idea  of  giving  to  the 
world  a  lying  testimony  for  God.     Do,  do  ask  whether 


BE    ACCOMPLISHED.  21 

you  are  giving  out,  and  living  out,  the  truth  concern- 
ing him  and  his  word  in  your  hiaitual  character  and 
conduct  ^ 

To  bear  witness  for  the  truth,  however,  is  not  the 
only  purpose  which  God  intends  should  be  accomplished 
by.  his  church,  but  also  to  fr  of  agate  it.  It  is  not  only 
to  receive  the  treasure,  but  to  diffuse  it ;  not  only  to  be 
a  stationary  oracle,  giving  out  its  responses  to  those  who 
come  to  it  for  guidance,  but  to  be  a  messenger  carrying 
the  proclamation  into  all  lands.  The  Jewish  church  was 
a  witness,  and  a  glorious  one  too,  for  God.  Its  temple, 
with  its  altar,  its  sacrifices,  and  its  worship  ;  its  kings, 
its  prophets,  and  its  priests ;  its  sabbaths,  and,  above  ail, 
its  lively  oracles,  bore  witness  for  Jehovah.  Its  very 
locality,  situated  as  it  was  in  almost  the  very  centre  of 
the  civilized  world,  and  surrounded  as  it  was  by  none 
but  idolatrous  nations,  was  admirably  suited  to  this  pur- 
pose. There  stood  the  tabernacle  of  witness,  there  was 
the  oracle  of  testimony,  ever  speaking,  not  only  to  the 
Jews,  but  to  the  multitudes  of  idol- worshipping*  people 
that  dwelt  in  their  immediate  vicinity.  The  light  of  that 
heaven-kindled  splendor  might  have  been  seen  from  afar, 
even  by  those  who  dwelt  in  the  realms  of  darkness,  and 
the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death.  The  worshippers  of 
Baal  and  Moloch,  of  Ashtaroth  and  of  Tammuz,  had 
only  to  turn  towards  Judea  to  see  a  light  which  revealed 
the  atrocity  of  their  conduct,  and  to  hear  a  voice  which 
rebuked  their  iniquity.  Still  this  witness  was  stationary  ; 
it  gleamed  like  a  beacon  from  afar,  but  it  did  not  revolve 
Hlce  the  sun  ;  it  conunissioned  its  priests  and  its  prophets 
to  receive  all  that  came  for  instruction,  but  it  did  not  bid 
them  carry  the  glad  tidings  to  distant  realms.  It  opened 
a  quiet  haven  into  which  the  tempest-tossed  ships  might 
sail  for  refuge,  but  it  did  not  send  out  the  life-boat  to 
fetch  the  sailors  from  the  wreck :  it  opened  its  fold  to  the 
returning  sheep,  but  did  not  send  out  its  shepherd  to  seek 
after  him  in  the  wilderness,  to  bring  him  back ;  it  wel- 
comed the  prodigal  on  his  return,  but  did  not,  like  the 
father  in  the  parable,  go  out  to  look  for  him ;  all  this 
belongs  U3  the  wider  ca  iprehension,  and  the  richer 
2* 


22  THE    DESIGNS    TO 

mercy  of  the  Christian  system.  True  it  is  that  Judaism 
enjoined  the  same  neighbor-love  as  does  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation, and  made  it  the  duty  of  a  Jew,  if  his  brother 
ened,  to  restore  him ;  and  if  he  sinned,  to  rebuke  hiin 
for  his  recovery  ;  but  the  law  enjoined  no  mission  to  the 
Gentiles ;  it  contented  itself  with  summoning-  the  sur- 
rounding nations  to  come  and  receive  instruction  from  its 
prophets  and  its  priests  ;  it  sent  them  no  message  of  life, 
no  word  of  salvation.* 

But  now  turn  to  the  dispensation,  the  brightest  and 
the  richest  ever  granted  to  man,  under  which  it  is  our 
mercy  to  live.  Christianity  has  nothing  local  in  its  insti- 
tutions, nothing  limited  in  its  provisions,  nothing  exclu- 
sive in  its  spirit.  When  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  rose 
upon  our  world,  it  was  not  to  stand  still  on  the  hills  and 
valleys  of  Judea,  but  with  the  mild  aspect  of  universal 
benevolence,  to  pursue  a  course  round  the  whole  earth. 
Jesus  Christ,  by  the  power  of  his  cross,  threw  down  the 
middle  wall  of  partition,  and,  standing  upon  its  ruins, 
gathered  his  apostles  around  him,  and  said  unto  them, 
"Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature.  Begin  at  Jerusalem,  and  let  those  that  struck 
the  rock  be  the  first  to  drink  of  its  healing  streams  ;  but 
stay  not  there ;  let  repentance  and  remission  of  sins  be 
preached  to  all  nations.  Content  not  yourselves,  as  did 
the  priests  and  the  prophets  of  the  law,  with  inviting  the 
perishing  outcasts  to  come  and  be  saved,  but  go  to  them. 
Mine  is  a  richer  grace,  the  very  fulness  of  mercy  ;  go, 
therefore,  and  carry  to  every  perishing  child  of  Adam  the 
offer  of  love,  the  means  of  salvation ;  and  neither  rest 
nor  stop  till  not  an  individual  shaJ  have  to  say,  '  No  man 
careth  for  my  soul.'  " 

Such  is  the  nature,  the  spirit,  and  the  design  of  Chris- 
tianit/,  and  such  its  difference  from  Judaism  :  its  doo- 
a-ines,  its  duties,  its  institutions,  have  no  peculiarities  that 


*  Se^  this  beautifully  illustrated  in  Dr.  Harris'  Sermon,  en- 
tilled  -^The  Witnessing  Church,"  (republished  in  Boston,  m  a 
small  volume,  with  several  other  worKs  of  Dr.  Harris,  under 
the  title  of  the  "Active  Christian.") 


BE    ACCOMPLISHED.  23 

fit  them  only  for  one  place,  or  one  people,  but  ^re  like 
the  light  of  the  sun,  and  the  air  we  breathe,  adapted  to 
eveiy  age  and  every  people,  whether  burning  under  the 
line,  or  shivering  at  the  poles  ;  whether  enlightened  by 
science  and  polished  by  learning,  or  wh ether  wrapt  in  the 
gloom  of  barbarism  and  degraded  to  the  brutal  habits  of 
savage  life.  And  as  it  is  adapted  to  all,  so  it  is  intended 
for  all :  no  one  nation  can  claim  a  deeper  interest  than 
another  in  the  love  of  the  Saviour,  or  the  blessings  of 
salvation.  He  is  the  Redeemer  of  the  world.  And  the 
gospel  being  intended  for  all,  it  is  the  duty  of  those  who 
possess  it  to  extend  it  to  those  who  have  it  not.  Chris- 
tianity explains  the  glowing  language  and  splendid  im- 
agery in  which  the  ancient  seers  had  predicted  the  times 
of  the  Messiah ;  and  has  revealed  secrets  which  came 
not  within  the  horizon  of  their  far-seeing  eye  ;  it  has 
cleared  up  every  perplexity,  the  solution  of  which  eluded 
their  inquiries,  often  as  they  employed  themselves  in 
"  searching  what  and  what  manner  of  time  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  which  was  in  them  did  signify,  when  it  testified 
beforehand  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  the  glory  that 
should  follow."  They  perceived,  through  the  clouds  of 
their  own  dispensation,  and  amidst  the  haze  of  futurity,  a 
dim  splendor,  which  they  could  not  comprehend.  Those 
clouds  have  rolled  off,  that  haze  has  cleared  up,  and 
though  still  future  and  distant,  the  glory  of  the  millennial 
age  is  seen  by  us  spreading  over  all  lands.  From  the 
mount  of  vision  we  behold  the  beauties  of  holiness  cov- 
ering every  region,  and  hear  the  song  of  salvation  rising 
from  every  land.  To  our  believing  and  enraptured  eye, 
no  less  an  object  presents  itself  than  the  whole  earth 
reposing  in  peace  beneath  the  sceptre  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

How  much  is  to  be  realized  in  that  wondious  scene  of 
grace  and  glory,  to  which,  notwithstanding  its  present 
aspect  of  crime,  and  curse,  and  misery  ;  notwithstand- 
ing its  present  attitude  of  revolt,  hostility,  and  enmity 
against  God ;  its  present  bondage  to  idolatry,  tyranny, 
and  barbarism ;  our  groaning  earth,  our  weeping,  bleed- 
ing, miserable  world,  is  destined  by  a  God  of  love  !    And 


24  THE    DESIGNS    TO 

how,  but  by  the  instrumentality  of  those  who  proelaui 
themselves  his  children  by  breathing  his  own  Spirit,  is 
this  glorious  regeneration  of  the  nations  to  be  accom- 
pUshed  1  Yes,  here  is  the  vocation,  the  business,  and 
the  triumphs  of  the  church.  All  this  is  to  be  done,  not 
by  the  intervention  of  angels,  but  by  the  agency  of  man. 
The  treasure  of  Christ's  immeasurable  riches  is  depos- 
ited, not  in  vessels  of  gold,  cast  and  burnished  in  heaven, 
but  in  vessels  of  earthly  mould,  and  evincing  the  weak- 
ness, the  coarseness,  and  the  brittleness  of  their  original. 
To  the  church,  Jehovah  is  ever  saying,  "  for  this  purpose 
have  I  raised  thee  up,  to  be  my  salvation  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth.  Behold  I  send  thee  far  hence  to  the  Gentiles.'' 
In  fulfilling  this  commission,  the  church  is  not  to  take  her 
stand  upon  Calvary,  and  lifting  up  the  blood-sprinkled 
sign,  to  summon  the  gods  of  the  heathen  to  come  and 
yield  up  their  usurpations  at  her  feet :  no,  but  she  is  to 
carry  that  blessed  symbol  into  the  very  Pantheon  of  idol- 
atry, and  by  the  power  of  God  to  drive  out  the  rabble  of 
divinities,  and  take  possession  of  their  desolate  abode  for 
him.  She  is  to  commence  an  invasion  of  the  territory 
of  Satan,  rescue  vassal  nations  from  his  yoke,  overturn 
the  altars  of  paganism  on  her  march,  and  win  the  world 
for  Him  whose  right  it  is  to  reign. 

Here,  we  repeat,  here  is  the  purpose  of  God  in  con- 
tinuing his  church  upon  earth  —  to  extend  herself  by  her 
own  sanctified  energies,  till  by  holding  forth  the  fact  and 
doctrine  of  the  cross,  she  shall  draw  all  men  unto  him 
that  hung  upon  it.  It  is  not  for  us  to  speculate  upon  the 
question  whether  the  world's  conversion  could  have  been 
accomplished  in  any  other  way.  It  is  enough  for  us  to 
know  that  this  is  the  way  God  has  chosen,  and  ordained 
for  this  purpose.  The  weakness  of  the  instrument  mag- 
nifies the  power  of  him  by  whom  it  is  made  efficient,  and 
at  the  same  time  humbles  the  pride  of  that  great  adver- 
sary, who  is  to  be  utterly  vanquished  in  the  contest. 
"  For  this  purpose  the  Son  of  God  was  manifested,  that 
he  might  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil."  1  John 
iii.  8. 

Let  the  church  well  consider  what  her  divine  Head 


BE    ACCOMPLISHED.  25 

has  i  US  intrusted  to  her  hands,  and  is  ever  expecting 
from  her  exertions.  Her  own  improvement,  of  course, 
is  one  part  of  her  duty,  as  we  shall  afterwards  show  : 
for  what  must  her  own  internal  cofidition  be  to  fit  her 
for  such  an  occupation ;  but  this  is  only  a  part  of  her 
duty;  the  other  part  is  —  to  fill  the  earth  with  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord. 

Satan,  when  expelled  from  heaven,  chose  this  earth  as 
the  place  where  he  would  raise  the  standard  of  revolt 
against  Christ,  as  he  had  done  in  heaven,  where  he  would 
fix  the  scene  of  his  hostility,  and  the  seat  and  centre  of 
his  empire  of  darkness.  Hither  has  the  Lord  followed 
him,  to  bruise  his  head,  and  wrest  the  sceptre  from  his 
hands.  For  a  while,  and  even  yet  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent, the  victory  seems  on  the  side  of  the  god  of  this 
world.  The  conflict  is,  however,  still  going  on  :  the  bat- 
tle still  rages  :  and  Jesus  Christ  summons  his  church  to 
his  standard.  For  this  purpose,  to  secure  his  ultimate 
victory  over  Satan,  he  is  "  head  over  all  things  to  his 
church,"  and  holds  the  government  of  the  universe  in 
his  hands.  He  has  one  line  of  policy,  and  one  plan  of 
action,  in  all  he  does  ;  and  that  is  the  destruction  of  Sa- 
tan's kingdom,  and  the  establishment  of  his  own.  For 
this  the  wheels  of  nature  roll  on,  and  the  cycles  of  time 
are  ever  revolving.  He  is  bending  everything  to  his  pur- 
pose, and  gathering  up  everything  into  his  scheme.  The 
revolutions  of  empires,  the  issues  of  battles,  the  ambition 
of  heroes,  and  the  rise  and  fall  of  monarchs :  the  pro- 
gress of  civilization,  the  efflux  of  emigration,  and  the 
formation  of  colonies ;  the  discoveries  of  science,  and 
the  inventions  of  arts ;  the  course  of  the  traveller,  and 
the  speculations  of  the  philosopher ;  the  decrees  of  coun- 
cils, the  edicts  of  monarchs,  and  the  debates  of  senates  : 
—  all,  all,  are  within  the  sphere  of  his  dominion,  sub- 
ject to  the  control  of  his  power,  and  tributary  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  his  cause. 

"As  the  world,"  says  an  American  preacher,  "was 
wholly  intended  for  the  scene  of  redemption,  all  the  good 
which  it  contains  belongs  to  the  plan  of  grsce  that  was 


26 


THE    DESIGNS     TO 


laid  in  Christ.  His  kiigdom  comprises  every  valuable 
object  which  God  prop:ised  to  himself  in  creating-,  pre- 
serving, and  governing  he  world  ;  the  whole  amount  of 
his  glory  upon  earth,  and  the  immortal  blessedness  of 
millions  of  men.  It  is  the  only  cause  on  earth  that 
deserves  an  anxious  thought :  it  is  the  only  interest 
which  God  pursues  or  values.  For  this  sole  object  were 
men  created,  and  placed  in  this  world,  with  social  affec- 
tions adapted  to  their  present  state.  No  one  interest 
distinct  from  the  kingdom  of  Christ  are  they  required  to 
pursue.  No  laws  but  such  as  directly  or  indirectly, 
proximately  or  ultimately,  appertain  to  this 'kingdom, 
were  ever  enacted  by  heaven  to  direct  their  concerns. 
Their  secular  employments,  their  social  duties,  are  en- 
joined in  subordination  to  this  kingdom.  Their  private 
and  social  propensities  they  are  not  indeed  required  to 
extinguish,  but  with  these  about  them  to  march  with  a 
strong  and  steady  step  towards  this  great  object,  with 
their  eye  filled  with  its  magnitude,  and  with  hearts  glow- 
ing with  desires  for  its  promotion.  It  is  required  that 
whether  they  eat,  or  drink,  or  whatever  they  do,  they 
should  do  all  with  reference  to  this  object.  As  then  we 
can  rely  on  the  decisions  of  infinite  wisdom,  expressed 
both  in  the  precepts  and  example  of  God,  we  are  as- 
sured that  'this  kingdom  ought  to  engross  the  supreme 
cares  of  men,  and  exert  a  commanding  influence  ever  all 
their  actions.  The  bosom  of  the  child  should  be  taught 
to  beat  with  delight  at  the  name  of  Jesus,  before  it  is 
capable  of  comprehending  he  nature  of  his  kingdom. 
The  youth  ought  to  regulate  :'l  his  pleasures,  his  ac- 
tions, and  his  hopes,  with  an  eye  fixed  on  this  kingdom. 
The  man  ought  to  respect  it  in  every  important  under- 
taking, in  all  his  common  concerns,  in  the  government  of 
his  passions,  and  in  the  thoughts  of  his  heart.  Instead 
of  pursuing  with  headlong  zea  their  own  separate  inter- 
ests, all  men  should  join  in  piQmoting  this  kingdom  as 
the  common  interest  of  mankind  —  the  great  concern  for 
which  they  were  sent  into  the  world. 

"  In  applying  this  subject,  I  would  summon,  if  I  were 
able,  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  to  arise  in  one  mass  to 


BE    ACCOMPLISHED.  27 

urge  fon^'ard  the  cause  of  the  Redeemer.  Assemble,  ye 
people,  from  the  four  quarters  of  tl\e  globe  ;  awake,  ye 
nations,  from  your  sleepy  pillows  —  combine  in  this  grand 
object  of  your  existence,  this  common  interest  of  the  world. 
Ye  husbands  and  wives,  why  are  ye  searching  for  hap- 
piness out  of  this  kingdom,  and  overlooking  the  cause  of 
Christ,  as  though  he  had  no  right  to  hold  an  interest  on 
earth?  Know  ye,  that  no  man  is  licensed  to  set  up 
another  on  this  ground,  which  is  sacred  to  the  Redeemer. 
What  have  ye  to  do  in  this  world,  if  ye  will  not  serve 
the  Lord's  anointed?  If  ye  will  not  submit  to  his  do 
minion,  and  join  to  advance  his  cause  ;  go,  go,  to  some 
other  world  —  this  world  was  made  for  Chiist.  But 
whither  can  ye  go  from  his  presence  ?  All  worlds  are 
under  his  dominion.  Ah !  then  return  and  let  your 
bosoms  swell  with  the  noble  desire  to  be  fellow-workers 
with  the  inhabitants  of  other  worlds  in  serving  this  glo- 
rious kingdom. 

"  My  brethren,  my  brethren!  while  all  the  agents  in 
the  universe  are  employed,  some  with  fervent  desire,  and 
others  by  involuntary  instrumentality,  to  advance  the 
cause  of  Christ,  will  an  individual  of  you  refuse  it  your 
cordial  support?  Can  you  in  the  centre  of  universal 
action  consent  to  remain  in  a  torpid  state,  absorbed  in. 
private  cares,  and  contracted  into  a  littleness  for  which 
you  were  never  designed  ?  Awake,  and  generously  ex- 
pand your  desires  to  encircle  this  benevolent  and  holy 
kingdom." 

This  is  as  true  as  it  is  eloquent,  and  lays  before  us  in 
a  most  impressive  manner  our  duty,  our  business,  and 
our  honor,  as  professing  Christians.  How  little  is  this 
practically  considered  by  the  great  bulk  of  professing 
Christians  —  yea,  how  little  is  it  understood,  or  even 
admitted  !  How  deeply  are  they  sunk  in  the  love  and 
pursuits  of  the  world,  and  how  almost  entirely  occupied 
by  its  cares  or  its  enjoyments !  How  few  of  them  in- 
dulge and  cherish  such  reflections  as  these :  "  I  li'^  >  in 
no  ordinary  age,  either  as  respects  the  world  o-  he 
church  ;  and  I  must  therefore  be  a  man  of  the  age,  and 
for  it !     I  cannot  flatter  myself  ir*,o  the  belief  that  I  am 


28  THE    DESIGNS     TO 

one  of  those  extraordinary  individuals  who  are  before 
their  age  ;  but  then  I  need  not  be  one  of  those  mean  and 
creeping  ones  who  are  behind  it.  I  learn  clearly  from 
the  Scriptures  that  Christ's  church  is  a  missionary 
church,  and  that  the  spirit  of  Christianity  is  essentially 
a  proselyting  one.  T  am  not  to  consider  myself  as  sent 
into  the  world  merely  to  get  wealth,  and  enjoy  myself. 
T  am  the  servant  of  Christ,  and  must  do  my  Master's 
work.  I  am  bought  with  a  price,  and  am  not  my  own, 
ind  must  yield  myself  up  to  my  divine  Proprietor.     I  am 

soldier,  and  I  am  put  in  requisition  by  him  to  whom  1 
belong.  I  am  called  out  to  service.  The  trumpet  bids 
me  to  take  my  station  round  the  standard,  and  join  my 
comrades  in  arms  to  fight  the  battles  of  my  Lord.  The 
world  is  in  rebellion  and  hostility  against  Christ,  and  I 
must  take  the  field,  and  endeavor  to  bring  it  into  subjec- 
tion to  him.  lam  but  one  —  but  I  am  one.  I  cannot 
do  much,  but  I  can  do  something  :  and  all  I  can  do,  I 
ought  to  do ;  and  by  God's  grace  will  do." 

It  is  to  be  known  and  recollected,  I  repeat,  that  what 
is  the  business  or  vocation  of  the  churchy  is  the  business 
or  vocation  of  every  one  of  its  members.  This  is  not  the 
work  of  apostles,  or  of  reformers,  or  of  ministers,  or  of 
missionaries  only,  it  is  your  work  by  M^homsoever  these 
pages  are  read.  In  the  movements  and  actions  of  the  body, 
there  is  the  movement  and  action  of  each  limb,  organ,  and 
sense,  and  all  animated  by  the  one  vitalizing,  guiding,  and 
impulsive  soul ;  and  each  contributes  its  measure  of  ser- 
vice in  accomplishing  whatever  is  achieved.  There  was 
no  more  and  no  other  obligation  to  convert  sinners  resting 
on  the  conscience  of  the  apostle  Paul,  viewed  simply  as  a 
Christian,  than  rests  now  upon  the  conscience  of  each 
member  of  the  Christian  church.  If  you  ask,  then,  by 
whom  is  the  high  destiny  of  the  church  to  be  fulfilled, 
the  answer  comes  directly  back,  by  you.  You,  each  one 
of  you,  are  the  church,  at  least  in  part ;  and  in  part  the 
church's  business  lies  with  you.  Ask  not  for  any 
special  command  that  is  to  bind  you  ;  we  may  rather 
inquire  for  the  special  release  that  exempts  you.  You 
cannot  be  freed  from  the  duty,  the  personal  duty,  of 


BE   ACCOMPLISHED.  29 

seeding  the  world's  conversion,  without  a  fresh  revela- 
tion from  heaven.  You  must  have  a  new  Bible  if  you 
would  be  freed  from  this  obligation,  and  a  new  order  of 
things  set  up  ;  for  the  old  Bible  and  the  old  order  clearly 
lay  this  obligation  upon  you.  Would  you  wish  to  be 
freed  from  this  obligation  1  What,  so  insensible  to  the 
honor  of  being  a  witness  for  God,  and  his  instrument  in 
converting  the  world,  as  to  wish  to  devolve  it  upon 
another !  Is  this  the  life  that  comes  from  Christ  the 
vine,  into  the  branches  grafted  into  him  1  Is  this  the 
vital  power  which  proceeds  from  the  head  into  every  one 
of  the  members  1 

Do  ask  what  you  are  doing  and  how  you  are  living. 
Do  the  men  of  the  world  see  clearly  that  while  you  are 
as  diligent  in  business,  as  careful  of  your  families,  as 
good  citizens  as  they  are,  you  have  another  errand  upon 
earth,  another  object  of  pursuit,  another  engrossing  in- 
terest, than  anything  to  be  found  among  things  seen  and 
temporal  1  Are  you  carrying  out  the  noble  assertion  of 
the  apostle,  made  on  behalf  of  the  whole  church,  "  Our 
conversation  [citizenship]  is  in  heaven"  ?  Does  the  spir- 
itual patriotism  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  glow  in  your 
bosom,  as  the  love  of  his  country  did  in  that  of  the  Ro- 
man citizen  in  the  purest  age  of  the  Republic  ?  Or  are 
you  taken  up  in  getting  and  enjoying  wealth,  grandeur, 
and  worldly  ease  1  Citizens  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  in- 
habitants of  the  holy  city  that  cometh  down  out  of  heav- 
en, I  call  upon  you  to  rouse  from  your  lethargy,  to  throw 
off  your  indolence,  your  worldliness,  and  to  gird  your- 
selves for  the  great  work  of  bearing  testimony  for  God  to 
a  dark,  infatuated,  and  miserable  world.  Leave  it  not 
to  ministers  and  missionaries ;  it  is  yours  also  to  lift  high 
the  heaven-lighted  torch  which  is  to  illumine  the  earth. 
But  then,  for  such  a  purpose,  what  manner  of  persons 
ought  ye  to  be  in  all  holy  conversation  and  godliness ! 
What  an  honor,  and  what  an  ardv.ous  one  too,  would 
you  deem  it,  to  have  a  commission  to  carry  a  specific 
to  a  country  where  the  plague  was  sweeping  its  inhab- 
itants by  millions  to  the  grave  !  Or  to  be  the  herald 
of  emancipation  to  a  nation  of  slaves  Or  to  convoy 
3 


m 


THE    DESIGNS     TO 


a  fleet  of  vessels  laden  with  food  to  a  starving  people ! 
But  infinitely  higher  than  this  is  your  commission,  for 
you  are  put  in  trust  with  the  gospel  for  curing  the  dis- 
eases, achieving  the  liberty,  and  providing  the  food,  of 
countless  millions  of  immortal  souls.  God  has  called 
you  first  of  all  to  obtain  the  salvation  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus,  with  eternal  glory,  for  yourself;  and  being 
thus  qualified  for  the  work,  then,  as  far  as  in  you 
lies,  to  extend  that  salvation  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
Christians,  there  is  your  vocation :  understand  it,  value 
it,  pursue  it : 

"  'Tis  what  might  fill  an  angel's  heart, 
And  filled  a  Saviour's  hands." 

Now  a  proselyting  church  must  of  course  be  an  earnest 
one.  He  must  have  formed  very  inadequate  ideas  of 
what  is  necessary  for  the  conversion  of  a  world  from  sin 
and  Satan,  to  Christ  and  holiness,  who  imagines  this  will 
ever  be  done  without  the  most  intense  earnestness,  and  a 
degree  of  self-devotement  which  has  never  been  wit- 
nessed, except  in  a  comparatively  few  instances,  since  the 
days  of  the  apostles.  It  was  this  that  made  even  the 
heroic  Paul  exclaim,  in  an  agonizing  consciousness  of 
inabiUty,  "  Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things?"  Let  any 
one  imagine  what  a  triumph  over  all  the  selfishness,  the 
cupidity,  the  worldliness,  the  indolence,  the  luxurious- 
ness,  which  are  to  be  found  among  professors,  must  take 
place  ;  and  what  a  predominance  of  the  holy,  heavenly, 
spiritual,  self-denying,  generous  virtues  must  come  on  — 
what  a  general  breaking  down  of  all  the  barriers  of  preju 
dice  between  different  denominations  of  Cliristians  must  b 
effected  —  what  a  fair  and  open  field  for  the  operations  oi 
Christian  zeal  must  be  presented  —  what  a  mighty  growtb 
of  spiritual  power  from  all  sections  of  the  one  church  must 
be  exhibited  —  before  ever  these  realms  of  darkness  and 
wickedness  are  evangelized.  What  a  great  work  it  must 
be  to  overtake  the  population  of  even  this  country  with 
the  means  of  religious  mstruction,  and  to  reclaim  from 
sterility  and  desolation  the  vast  and  neglected  wastes 
which  are  found  here  ;  and  to  drain  and  c  iltivate  these 


BE    ACCOMPLISHED.  31 

pestilent  bogs  of  ignorance,  crime,  and  misery !  And  this 
is  only  but  as  the  homestead,  and  the  garden,  compared 
with  the  wilderness  of  Paganism  and  Mahommedanism 
which  lies  beyond.  Let  any  man  man  cast  his  eye  over 
a  map  of  our  globe,  with  a  geographical  and  historical 
knowledge  of  the  tyrannical  governments,  the  idolatrous 
reUgions,  the  savage  barbarism,  the  multifarious  lan- 
guages, the  unapproachable  suspicion,  which  are  com- 
prehended under  the  names  and  within  the  hues  that  are 
before  him  ;  and  then  think  of  winning  all  this  to  Christ, 
and  covering  all  these  dark  domains  of  sin  and  Satan 
with  the  beauties  of  holiness,  the  joys  of  hope,  and  the 
blessings  of  salvation  —  and  yet  this  is  the  business  of  the 
church,  its  labor,  and  its  hope.  Will  these  valleys  be 
filled  up,  these  mountains  be  levelled?  Will  these 
crooked  things  be  made  straight,  and  these  rough  places 
be  made  plain,  without  an  earnestness  we  have  never  yet 
witnessed]  Is  there  not  an  agonizing  effort,  such  as  we 
know  nothing  about,  yet  to  be  called  forth,  by  which  all 
this  is  to  be  achieved  1  We  have  even  yet  to  learn  what 
kind  of  work  we  have  undertaken,  in  setting  our  hands 
to  the  world's  conversion  ;  and  must  be  made  to  learn, 
perhaps,  more  painfully,  more  impressively,  than  we  have 
yet  done,  the  nature  of  the  difficulties  that  are  to  be  over- 
come, that  we  may  see  what  kind  of  men,  and  what  kind 
of  efforts,  are  required  for  the  accomplishment  of  the 
marvellous  and  glorious  consummation. 

This  is  the  burden  which  the  Lord  has  laid  upon  us  of 
this  age,  above  most  other  ages  that  have  preceded  us, 
and  which  we  dare  not  cast  off  from  us ;  but  concerning 
which  we  must  set  ourselves  to  inquire  how  it  is  to  be 
borne,  so  as  that  his  work  may  prosper,  and  the  church 
of  our  day  well  and  successfully  do  her  part. 

It  is  but  too  evident  that  the  church  of  this  age,  and 
perhaps,  with  few  exceptions,  the  church  of  every  age, 
has  but  very  imperfectly  and  inadequately  understood  her 
vocation  as  a  testifying  and  proselyting  body.  She  has 
been  too  secular  and  too  selfish.  She  has  not  allowed 
the  wondrous  tiuths  which  she  professes  to  exert  all  their 
power,  and  has  luenched  the  Divine  Spirit  which  dweU- 


32  THE    DESIGNS    TO 

eth  in  her  as  in  his  bodily  temple.  Christians  seem  to  be 
trying  the  dangerous  and  desperate  experiment  of  gaining 
just  religion  enough  to  save  them  from  hell  and  take 
them  to  heaven  ;  rather  than  putting  forth  all  their  de- 
sires and  energies  to  see  how  much  of  the  light,  and 
power,  and  joy  of  true  godliness  they  can  possess.  They 
seem  as  if  they  would  be  content  to  float  into  the  haven 
of  eternal  rest  upon  any  plank  or  fragment  of  the  ship- 
wrecked vessel,  rather  than  intensely  long  to  make  a  pros- 
perous voyage,  and  have  an  "  abundant  entrance,"  with 
every  sail  set,  the  precious  cargo  all  preserved,  and  to 
drop  their  anchor  amidst  the  acclamations  of  the  admiring 
multitudes  who  throng  the  heavenly  strand. 

We  can  conceive  that  a  time  will  come  when  the  heav- 
enly and  holy  calling  will  be  better  understood  and  more 
perfectly  exhibited.  When  Christians  wiU  be  seen  on 
every  hand,  taking  up  as  their  rule  of  conduct  the  apos- 
tle's epitome  of  his  whole  moral  self,  and  saying  in  truth, 
"Forme  to  live  is  Christ."  When  personal  ease,  do- 
mestic comfort,  and  the  acquisition  of  wealth,  knowledge  oi 
fame,  though  not  neglected,  will  all  be  considered  as  very 
secondary  and  subordinate  matters  to  the  great  business 
of  bearing  testimony  for  God,  and  converting  the  world 
to  him.  When  they  will  feel  that  "the  Lord  hath  set 
apart  him  that  is  godly  for  himself,"  and  consider  them- 
selves as  something  sacred  to  God,  formed  for  himself  to 
show  forth  his  praise.  Instead  of  looking  with  envy  and 
an  imitative  propensity  on  the  men  of  this  world,  who 
devote  themselves  wholly  and  successfully  to  the  acquisi- 
tion of  wealth,  grandeur  and  power,  they  will  pray  to  be 
delivered  from  them,  as  pursuing  a  low,  sordid,  and  a 
sinful  course,  compared  with  their  own,  in  witnessing  for 
God,  and  spreading  the  savor  of  his  knowledge  through 
the  world ;  and  will  feel  that  so  that  they  do  but  fulfil  their 
mission,  they  can  be  content  to  be  the  witnesses  who 
prophesy  in  sackcloth.  They  wUl  no  more  dream  of  giv- 
ing themselves  up  to  personal  ease  and  enjoyment,  as  the 
great  object  of  desire  and  pursuit,  to  the  neglect  or  luke- 
warm accomplishment  of  the  design  of  their  profession, 
than  would  an  ambassador  sent  to  bear  testimony  for  his 


BE    ACCOMPLISHED. 


33 


sovereign  and  his  nation  in  a  foreign  court,  and  before  an 
antagonistic  and  hostile  people.  Up  then,  ye  soldiers  of 
the  cross  —  gird  you  for  the  conflict  —  quit  you  like  men. 
The  world  is  all  before  you.  The  commission  is  in  your 
hands.  Victory  awaits  you.  With  such  a  Captain  and 
such  a  cause,  what  enemy  could  prevent  you  from  win- 
ning the  world  for  Christ,  md  immortal  honors  foi  your- 
selves^ 

3* 


CHAPTER   11. 

REMARKS  ON  THE  EPISTLES  TO  THE  SEVEN  CHURCHES  IW 
ASIA, REVELATION,  CHAPTERS  I.,  II.,  III., TEND- 
ING TO  ILLUSTRATE  THE  NATURE  OF  EARNESTNESS  IN 
RELIGION. 

It  is  a  matter  of  no  moment  to  the  design  of  this  work, 
in  what  light  these  epistles  are  to  be  considered  ;  whether 
as  the  past  real  histories  of  the  churches  here  mentioned, 
and  of  their  actual  condition  at  the  time,  or  as  symbolical 
or  prophetical  representations  of  the  different  states 
through  which  the  church  was  then  destined  to  pass  in 
its  future  history ;  since  the  spiritual  instruction  to  be 
gathered  from  them  is  the  same  in  either  case.  The 
former  supposition  seems  the  more  likely  one,  and  it  is 
probable  that  these  churches  were  specially  under  the 
superintendence  of  the  beloved  apostle  during  the  decline 
of  his  life  ;  not,  however,  these  alone,  but  lliey  were  the 
more  considerable  ones  under  his  care  ;  and  as  the  seals, 
the  trumpets,  and  the  vials,  were  all  in  sevens,  so,  to  pre- 
serve the  harmony,  the  churches  also  were  set  forth  under 
that  number. 

Though  the  epistles  were  addressed  to  the  presiding 
pastor  or  bishop  under  the  designation  of  "  the  angel," 
for  what  reasons  it  does  not  appear  quite  clear,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  they  were  intended  for  the  whole  church. 

It  is  not  proposed  here  to  go  into  any  minute  exposi- 
tion of  these  addresses,  but  only  to  make  some  general 
remarks  upon  them,  tending  to  show  the  nature  and  ne- 
cessity of  an  earnest  piety,  and  to  stir  up  the  churches  to 
Beek  after  it. 

1.  Unlike  the  other  inspired  apostolical  epistles,  these 
are  all  delivered  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  person 
thx  ugh  the  medium  of  the  apostle,  and  are  therefore  ana^ 


THE    SEVEN    CHURCHES.  36 

ogous,  in  that  particular,  to  the  messages  which,  under 
the  Jewish  dispensation,  the  prophets  dehvered  to  the 
people,  with  a  '*  Thus  saith  the  Lord."  This  indicates 
the  deep  inierest  which  Jesus  Christ  takes  in  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  all  and  each  of  his  churches.  His  regard  to 
these  seven  communities  was  by  no  means  exclusive  or 
special :  all  others  which  then  existed  were  as  dear  to 
his  heart,  because  as  much  the  purchase  of  his  blood,  as 
they  :  and  so  are  all  that  now  exist,  even  to  the  least 
company  of  believers  in  the  mosl  obscure  village.  How 
exquisitely  beautiful  is  the  description  given  of  him,  as, 
"  He  who  ivalketh  amidst  the  seven  golden  candlesticks  :''^ 
and  how  impressive  a  symbol  is  this  of  the  design  of  each 
church  to  be  a  fountain  of  the  purest  light  to  the  place  in 
which  it  exists  Can  anything  more  emphatically  remind 
us  than  this  symbol,  of  the  devoutness,  the  zeal,  the  spir- 
itual knowledge,  which  each  church  should  possess,  since 
it  is  formed  to  illuminate  a  dark  world,  is  under  the  per- 
sonal superintendence  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  is  an  object 
of  his  solicitous  care  ?  How  earnest  is  he  on  behalf  of 
every  community  of  the  faithful  as  a  whole,  and  every 
member  of  it  m  particular. 

2.  The  address  to  each  church  commences  with  the 
same  solemn  assurance  of  his  intimate  acquaintance  with 
its  spiritual  condition  :  "I  know  thy  works."  He  thus 
declares  that  he  is  ever  looking  upon  his  churches,  not 
as  we  look,  from  a  distance,  but  with  an  eye  immediately 
fixed  upon  each  —  not  with  a  cursory  or  general  glance, 
but  With  a  close  and  minute  inspection  into  the  state  of 
every  heart ;  so  that  his  knowledge  of  each  member  is  as 
perfect  as  his  knowledge  of  the  entire  chuich,  and  is  de- 
rived from  its  proper  source  —  the  real  facts  of  every 
case  subjected  to  that  all-searching  eye,  Mhich  is  repre- 
sented by  a  flame  of  fire,  chap.  ii.  18.  This  is  expressed 
with  still  more  explicitness  in  his  address  to  the  church 
at  Thyatira,  to  which  he  says,  "  All  the  churches,"  not 
the  world  merely,  but  "  the  churches  shall  know  that  I  am 
he  which  searcheth  the  reins  and  hearts ;  and  I  will  give 
unto  every  one  of  you  according  to  your  works."  This 
asserts  not  onl    his  power  or  his  right,  but  his  occupa- 


36  ON   THE    EPISTLES    TO 

tion  ;  he  is  ever  thus  engaged  ;  his  eyes  are  always  rua 
ning  to  and  fro  through  every  church.  His  attention  is 
minute  and  specific  ;  it  is  not  the  church  collectively,  but 
the  church  in  its  individual  members,  that  is  the  subject 
of  his  scrutiny.  How  anxiously  and  how  inquisitively 
should  each  church  say,  what  does  he  see  in  us?  and 
each  member  say,  what  does  he  see  in  me?  Can  any- 
thing be  a  stronger  incitement  to  diligence,  to  earnestness, 
to  entire  self-consecration,  than  the  thought  that  we  are 
ever  in  the  great  task-master's  eye.  Over  each  one  of 
us  continually  rolls  the  thrilling  and  solemn  announce- 
ment, "  I  know  thy  works."  Could  we  but  set  the  Lord 
always  before  us  ;  could  we  but  realize  him  as  at  our 
right  hand  ;  could  we  but  even  look  up  to  him  as  pres- 
ent, though  invisible,  saying  to'  him,  "  Thou  God  seest 
me,"  should  we  need  anything  more  to  stir  us  up  to  the 
most  intense  devotedness? 

3.  Christ  always  begins  his  addresses  to  these  churches 
with  the  language  of  commendation,  where  there  is  any- 
thing to  commend.  How  condescending,  kind,  and  gra- 
cious is  this,  and  what  a  lesson  does  it  furnish  to  us  for 
regulating  our  conduct  towards  each  other  !  How  en- 
couraging is  this  in  all  our  attempts  to  please  him,  and 
what  an  incentive  to  labor  more  abundantly  for  him  !  He 
is  not  a  hard  master,  nor  an  ungracious  one,  turning 
away  with  indifference  and  disdain  from  the  services  of 
his  people.  The  feeblest  efforts  made  by  his  feeblest  dis- 
ciple, when  made  with  sincerity,  are  accepted  by  him  • 
the  wish,  the  sigh,  the  tear,  the  inarticulate  and  unut- 
tered,  because  unutterable,  groaning,  are  all  noticed  by 
him,  and  received  with  a  most  condescending,  "  Well 
done."  0,  Christians,  shall  such  a  master  be  served  with 
a  slack  hand,  a  tardy  foot,  or  a  cold  heart  1  Shall  stinted, 
grudged,  or  lukewarm  services  be  offered  to  Him? 
Shall  less  than  the  best,  or  the  utmost,  be  done  for  Him  ? 
*'  If  ye  offer  the  blind  for  sacrifice,  is  it  not  evil  1  and  if 
ye  offer  the  lame  and  sick,  is  it  not  evil?  But  cursed  be 
the  deceiver,  which  hath  in  his  flock  a  male,  and  voweth 
and  sacrificeth  unto  the  Lord  a  corrupt  thing :  for  I  am  a 


THt    SLVEN    CHUKC'HES.  37 

great  Kuig,  saith  the   Lord  of  Hosts,  and  my  name  is 
dieadtul  among  the  heathen."     Mai.  i.  14. 

4.  At  the  same  time,  Christ,  in  the  exercise  of  a  right- 
eous severity,  rebuked  each  church  for  what  was  wrong, 
where  he  found  anything  worthy  of  reproof.  His  love  is 
not  a  blind  and  doating  affection,  which  sees  no  fault  in 
its  object  ;  but  is  a  wise  and  judicious  regard,  which 
searches  out  failings,  not  so  much  to  expose  and  punish, 
as  to  correct  and  remove  them.  Even  to  the  most  cor- 
rupt of  the  seven  churches,  he  said,  after  a  severe  repre- 
hension, "  As  many  as  I  love,  I  rebuke  and  chasten." 
Inconsistent  and  negligent  professors  !  ye  who  know  your 
worldliness  ;  your  evil  dispositions  ;  your  breaches  of 
truth,  honor,  and  justice  ;  your  neglects  of  prayer  in 
the  closet  and  in  the  family ;  your  general  declensions 
and  decay  of  piety  ;  your  gross  irregularities  and  mani- 
fest inconsistencies  —  hearken  to  his  reproving  voice  ;  look 
at  his  frovming  countenance  ;  dread  his  continued  re- 
bukes. Amend  your  doings.  Put  away  the  evil  that  is 
in  you.  He  will  not  tolerate  sin  in  you  ;  nor  should  you 
in  yourselves. 

5.  Each  address  closes  with  a  promise  of  reward  to 
those  who  are  victorious  in  the  Christian  conflict.  "  To 
him  that  overcometh  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life, 
which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  paradise  of  God  —  he  shall 
not  be  hurt  by  the  second  death  —  I  will  give  to  him  to 
eat  of  the  hidden  manna,  and  will  give  him  a  white  stone, 
and  in  the  stone  a  new  name  written,  which  no  man 
knoweth  save  he  that  receiveth  it  —  I  will  give  him  power 
over  the  nations  —  he  shall  be  clothed  with  white  raiment ; 
and  1  will  not  blot  out  his  name  out  of  the  book  of  hfe, 
but  1  will  confess  his  name  before  my  Father  and  before 
his  angels  —  I  will  make  him  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of 
my  God,  and  he  shall  go  no  more  out —  and  I  will  wrrite 
upon  him  the  name  of  my  God,  and  the  name  of  the  city 
of  my  God  :  and  I  will  write  upon  him  my  new  name  — 
and  he  shall  sit  with  me  c«i  my  throne,  even  as  I  also 
overcame,  and  am  set  down  with  my  Father  on  his 
throne."^' 

Such  are  the  3xceeding  great  and  precious  promises 


30  ON    THE    EPISTLES    TO 

which  are  made  to  those  who  "  come  off  more  than  con- 
querors through  him  that  hath  loved  them"  in  the  fight 
of  faith,  and  which,  though  distributed  among  the 
churches,  will  all  be  fulfilled  in  every  individual  victor. 
Though  some  of  the  expressions  have  a  meaning  which 
can  never  be  fully  developed  in  this  world,  that  very  dif- 
ficulty seems  to  add  to  their  value,  since  it  exhibits  in 
vague  and  general  outline  an  object  too  vast  to  be  compre- 
hended, and  too  bright  to  be  seen  by  our  present  limited 
and  feeble  vision.  Christians,  look  up  at  these  stupen- 
dous objects  of  hope,  floating  in  obscure  grandeur  behind 
the  dim  and  mysterious  transparency  of  Holy  Scripture  ; 
and  then  imagine,  and  it  can  only  be  faintly,  the  reward 
of  successful  diligence.  You  are  engaged  in  a  conflict 
of  immense  difficulty  and  of  tremendous  importance.  See 
what  consequences  hang  upon  it ;  and  for  what  stake 
you  are  contending.  An  archangel  coming  direct  from 
the  throne  of  God,  with  all  the  scenes  of  eternity  and 
heavenly  glory  fresh  in  his  recollection,  could  not  make 
you  comprehend  the  weight,  and  the  brOliancy,  and  the 
worth,  of  that  crown  which  is  held  forth  by  the  hand  of 
infinite  love,  to  engage  your  ardor  in  the  contest  against 
sin,  Satan,  and  the  world.  Earnestness  !  Where  1  for 
what?  and  in  whom  should  it  be  expected,  if  not  in  him 
who  is  contending  upon  earth  for  glory,  honor,  immortal- 
ity, and  eternal  life  '^  Is  he  a  cold  statue  or  a  living 
man,  wh.^  can  see  such  objects  placed  before  him,  and 
not  feel  every  ambitious  desire  influenced,  and  all  his  en- 
ergy engaged  for  their  possession  1  It  was  on  this  the 
mind  of  the  apostle  was  fixed  when  he  uttered  that  heart- 
exciting,  soul-inspiring  language — "Brethren,!  count 
not  myself  to  have  apprehended  ;  but  this  one  thing  I  do, 
forgetting  those  things  which  are  behind,  and  reaching 
forth  unto  those  things  which  are  before,  I  press  toward 
the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in 
Christ  Jesus."  Phil.  iii.  13,  14.  If  an  apostle  felt 
such  earnestness  indispensable,  inevitable,  and  neces- 
sary, how  much  more  should  we  ! 

Let  us  now  take  up  each  epistle  separately,  and  learn 
the  one  great  lesson  which  each  seems  adapted  and  de- 
signed to  teach 


THE    SEVEN    CHURCHES.  39 


EPHESUS,  CHAP.  H.  1, 

"  Unto  the  angel  of  the  church  of  Ephesus  write. 
These  things  saith  he  that  holdeth  the  seven  stars  in  his 
right  hand,  who  walketh  amidst  the  seven  golden  candle- 
sticks :  I  know  thy  works,  and  thy  labor,  and  thy  pa- 
tience, and  how  thou  canst  not  bear  them  that  are  evil ; 
and  thou  hast  tried  them  that  say  they  are  apostles, 
and  are  not,  and  hast  found  them  liars  :  and  hast  borne, 
and  hast  patience,  and  for  my  name's  sake  hast  labored, 
and  hast  not  fainted.  This  thou  hast,  thou  hatest  the 
deeds  of  the  Nicolaitanes,  [i.  e.,  a  sect  of  practical  anti- 
nomians,]  which  I  also  hate." 

We  are  ready  to  exclaim,  what  a  church  and  what  a 
character  !  They  worked,  yea,  labored,  for  Christ ;  they 
were  called  to  suffer  persecution,  and  instead  of  aposta- 
tizing, endured  their  sufferings  with  patience  ;  they 
maintained  a  strict  and  holy  discipline,  and  cast  out  from 
among  them  impostors  and  eVil  characters !  Is  any- 
thing wanted  here  1  Will  the  Lord  Jesus  find  any  fault 
with  them  1  Yes,  he  did.  He  commended  them  for 
their  good,  but  "  Nevertheless,"  said  he,  "I  have  some- 
what against  thee,  because  thou  hast  left  thy  first  love. 
Remember,  therefore,  from  whence  thou  art  fallen,  and 
repent,  and  do  thy  first  works,  or  else  I  will  come  unto 
thee  quickly,  and  will  remove  thy  candlestick  out  of  thy 
place,  except  thou  repent."  I  know  of  nothing  more 
alarming  and  impressive  than  such  a  rebuke  to  such  a 
church. 

Now  the  lesson  taught  us  here  is,  that  nc  measure  oj 
attainment  in  churches  or  individual  members  uAll  satisfy 
Christ,  whi^e  any  palpable  defect  in  other  things  is  observ- 
able.  We  cannot,  we  must  not,  attempt  to  compound  for 
attention  to  some  things  by  the  neglect  of  others.  Here 
was  a  church  that  excelled  in  so  many  arduous  duties, 
that  one  should  have  almost  expected  to  hear  nothing  but 
the  language  of  unmixed  commendation  ;  and  we  are  ready 
to  say,  if  such  a  community  was  rebuked  for  deficiency, 
what  shall  be  said  of  usi  How  we  ought  to  tremble  ! 
Theii  sin  was  a  leaving  of  first  love ;  their  religious 


40  ON    THE    EPISTLES    TO 

affections  had  abated,  the  spirituaUty  of  their  minds  had 
declined,  their  joy  was  not  so  hvely,  nor  their  love  so  ar- 
dent, as  it  once  was  ;  and  notwithstanding  their  labor,  and 
patience,  and  external  holiness,  the  Lord  Jesus  rebuked 
them  even  with  threatenings.  How  fearfully  common 
is  this  declension !  How  many  are  there,  who  are 
saying, 

"  Where  is  the  blessedness  I  knew, 

When  first  I  saw  the  Lord  :  ^ 
Where  is  the  soul-refreshing  view 

Of  Jesus  and  his  word  ? 

'*  What  peaceful  hours  I  once  enjoyed! 
How  sweet  their  memory  still ! 
But  they  have  left  an  aching  void, 
The  world  can  never  fill." 

This  is  so  common  that  many  are  almost  ready  to  ex- 
cuse it  as  a  state  to  be  looked  for  in  the  natural  course  of 
things  ;  but  Christ  treats  it  as  a  sin,  and  calls  upon  the 
party  to  repent  of  it ;  and  threatens,  if  they  do  not,  to 
remove  the  candlestick  out  of  its  place. 

I  ask,  then,  if  anything  less  than  the  most  intense 
earnestness  can  prevent  this  declension,  or  recover  us 
from  it  when  we  have  fallen  into  it  1  The  language  of 
Christ  to  us  all  is,  "  Go  on  unto  perfection."  Which  of 
our  modern  churches  can  compare  with  this  at  Ephesus, 
and  which  of  them  therefore  should  not  hear  the  words 
of  Christ  addressed  to  them,  "  Repent,  repent!" 

SMYRNA,  CHAP.  H.  8. 

"  Unto  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Smyrna  write.  I 
know  thy  works,  and  tribulation,  and  poverty,  (but  thou 
art  rich,)  and  I  know  the  blasphemy  of  them  that  say  they 
are  Jews,  and  are  not,  but  are  of  the  synagogue  of  Satan. 
Fear  none  of  those  things  which  thou  shalt  suffer ;  be- 
hold, the  devil  shall  cast  some  of  you  into  prison,  that  ye 
may  be  tried ;  and  ye  shall  have  tribulation  ten  days  ;  be 
thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of 
life." 

Now  it  is  observable  that  this  is  one  of  the  two  churches 
against  which  nothing  is  alleged  in  the  way  of  blame : 


THE    SEVEN    CHURCHES.  4 

and  to  which  no  language  of  rebuke  is  addressed  :  and  it. 
is  evident  at  the  same  time  that  it  was  much  and  sorely 
tried  by  persecution.  This  persecution  had  reduced  them 
to  great  poverty.  "  We  see  here  of  what  little  account 
worldly  wealth  is  in  the  estimation  of  Christ.  We  hear 
much  of  respectable  congregations  and  churches,  where 
little  else  is  meant  by  that  but  that  they  are  numerous  or 
opulent ;  but  the  estimation  of  Christ  goes  on  quite 
another  principle.  What  a  contrast  there  is  between 
this  church  and  that  at  Laodicea  !  They  were  rich  in 
tliis  world's  goods,  but  poor  towards  God;  these  were 
poor  in  this  world,  but  rich  towards  God." 

Now  the  lesson  to  be  learnt  from  this  church  is,  that 
persecution,  if  it  reduce  the  numbers  of  professors,  is 
favorable  to  eminent  piety. 

In  times  of  unrestricted  liberty,  external  prosperity, 
and  unmolested  ease,  such  as  ours,  especially  in  an  age 
when  evangelical  sentiment  is  to  a  certain  extent  fashion- 
able, professors  of  rehgion  multiply  fast ;  but  like  the 
Juxuriant  produce  of  tropical  regions,  they  want  the 
strength  and  solidity  which  colder  climates  and  more 
frosty  atmospheres  give  to  the  plants  and  trees  which 
grow  under  their  influence.  Persecution,  which  withers 
and  destroys  the  profession  of  multitudes  of  these  effem- 
inate and  feeble  followers  of  Christ,  leaves  the  deeply 
rooted  plants  of  God's  own  right  hand  planting  still 
growing  strong  and  fair.  What  strange  and  awful 
havoc  in  our  churches  would  one  year  of  bitter  and  op- 
pressive intolerance  make  !  In  what  numbers  would  the 
sofl,  luxurious  and  self-indulgent  members  drop  off  from 
the  fellowship  of  the  faithful :  and,  on  the  other  hand,  in 
what  majestic  grandeur  and  heroism  would  the  cross- 
oearers  stand  forth,  and  revive  the  martyr  age  of  suffer-, 
ing  and  glory.  As  skilful  and  intrepid  seamen  are 
formed  by  the  tempest ;  as  heroes  are  made  in  the  battle- 
field ;  and  as  gold  is  purified  in  the  furnace  ;  so  eminent 
Christians  are  raised  up,  and  called  forth,  by  the  force  of 
persecution. 

Now  let  us  all  consider  what  kind  of  religion  that 
must  be  which  makes  a  man  a  martyr  ;  what  depth  of 
4 


42  ON    THE    EPISTLES    TO 

conviction,  what  strength  of  faith,  what  ardor  of  love, 
what  Mvehness  of  hope  !  Let  us  think  what  a  value  and 
impression  of  eternity ;  what  an  assurance  of  heaven ; 
what  a  conquest  of  the  world  ;  what  an  emancipation 
from  the  fear  of  death,  there  must  be,  to  make  a  man 
press  forward  in  his  religious  profession,  not  only  at  the 
hazard,  but  with  the  certainty,  of  bonds,  imprisonments, 
and  death  !  Is  ours  such  a  religion  1  Do  we  know  the 
power  of  a  principle  which  the  prospect  of  the  scaffold 
could  not  overcome  ;  and  the  ardor  of  an  attachment 
which  the  agonies  of  the  stake  could  not  extinguish? 
Have  we  a  self-denial,  a  habit  of  mortification  and  cruci- 
fixion as  regards  our  sinful  desires,  which  is  itself  the 
gevm  of  the  martyr-spirit,  and  which  makes  it  clearly  in- 
ielligibie,  how  we  could  die  for  it?  Is  there,  when  we 
are  looking  round  upon  a  quiet  and  happy  home,  and 
upon  a  ciide  of  endeared  relations,  such  a  state  of  mind 
as  this,  "  I  feel  as  if,  by  God's  grace,  I  could  give  up  all 
this,  ratjier  than  deny  my  Lord."  This  is  required  in  all 
who  would  be  Christ's  disciples.  He  will  accept  no  man 
on  other  terms.  It  is  his  own  declaration,  which  we 
should  do  well  to  study,  "  If  any  man  come  to  me,  anc 
hate  not  his  father,  and  mother,  and  wife,  and  children, 
and  brethren,  and  sisters,  yea,  and  his  own  life  also,  he 
cannot  be  my  disciple  ;  and  whosoever  doth  not  bear  his 
cross  and  come  after  me,  cannot  be  my  disciple."  Luke 
xiv.  26.  This  single  passage  seems  enough  to  circulate 
alarm  through  all  Christendom^,  and  to  excite  apprehen 
sion  in  the  minds  of  nijie  tenths  of  the  professed  disciples 
of  the  Lamb,  about  the  sincerity  of  their  religion.  We 
are  involuntarily  led,  in  consternation.,  to  say,  "  Who  then 
can  be  saved  ?  What  diligence  and  devotedness  ;  what 
solicitude  and  intense  earnestness,  are  necessary  to  jus- 
tify and  sustain  our  pretensions  to  such  a  religion  as  this  ! 
Who  has  enough  of  the  pure  gold,  or  is  free  enough 
from  thQ  dross  of  sin,  to  stand  the  test  of  such  a  fire?" 

PERGAMOS,  CHAP.  H.  12. 

"  Unto  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Pergamos  write. 
Thepe  things  saith  he  that  hath  the  sharp  sword  with 


THE    SEVEN    CHURCHES.  43 

two  edges  :  I  know  thy  works,  and  where  thou  dwellest, 
even  where  Satan's  seat  is ;  and  thou  holdest  fast  my 
name,  and  hast  not  denied  my  faith,  even  in  those  days 
wherein  Antipas  was  my  faithful  martyr,  who  was  slain 
among  you  where  Satan  dwelleth.  But  I  have  a  few 
things  against  thee,  because  thou  hast  them  that  hold  the 
doctrine  of  Balaam,  who  taught  Balac  to  cast  a  stumbling- 
block  before  the  children  of  Israel,  to  eat  things  sacri- 
ficed to  idols,  and  to  coimnit  fornication.  So  hast  thou 
also  them  that  hold  the  doctrine  of  the  Nicolaitanes, 
which  thing  I  hate.  Repent,  or  else  I  will  come  unto 
thee  quickly,  and  will  fight  against  thee  with  the  sword 
of  my  mouth." 

Pergamos  was  a  city  of  IMjrsia,  in  Asia  Minor,  the  cap- 
ital of  the  province,  the  seat  of  government,  and  the  resi- 
dence of  a  race  of  monarchs  whose  ambition  it  was  to 
make  it  rival  Rome  or  Alexandria  in  wealth,  grandeur, 
and  elegance.  It  abounded  with  idol  temples,  in  which 
the  most  impure  and  lascivious  orgies  were  celebrated  ; 
it  was  addicted  to  excessive  luxury,  effeminacy,  and  cor- 
ruption, and  was  infamous  in  Roman  history  for  the 
polluting  influence  which,  in  its  subjugation  by  that  peo- 
ple, it  exercised  over  their  conduct.  So  that  very  em- 
phatically might  it  have  been  said,  "  Satan's  seat  was 
there,"  and  that  there  he  dwelt  as  in  his  loved  abode. 
Yet  amidst  these  abominations  was  planted  a  Christian 
church.  It  was  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  in  such  a 
place  persecution  should  be  kindled,  and  should  rage 
against  those  whose  doctrines  and  whose  practices  were  a 
constant  and  a  severe  rebuke  upon  the  religion  and  works 
of  the  whole  city.  In  the  persecution,  Antipas,  perhaps 
a  faithful  pastor,  was  crowned  with  martyrdom,  and  prob- 
ably others  with  him.  The  great  bulk  of  the  church 
continued  steadfast  amidst  surrounding  opposition,  and 
pure  amidst  surrounding  vice.  It  requires  a  stretch  of 
imagination  to  conceive  of  the  earnestness  which  must 
have  been  cherished  and  exhibited  by  those  who  remained 
faithful. 

Yet  even  here  there  were  some  who  were  exceptions 
to  the  rest ;  some  that  held  the  doctrines  of  Balaam, 


44  ON    THE    EPISTLES    TO 

who  had  instructed  Balak  to  seduce  the  Israelites  nto 
the  lascivious  rites  of  the  Moabitish  idolatry.  By  this 
we  are  to  understand  that  some  of  the  members  of  that 
church,  while  professing  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel, 
gave  connivance  in  some  way  or  other  to  the  flagitious 
idolatry  of  their  city  ;  and,  in  addition,  there  were  some 
of  the  antinomian  Nicolaitanes  there  also.  For  this  the 
church  was  called  to  repentance,  which  they  were  to  ex- 
ercise and  manifest  by  bearing  ^testimony  against  such 
sins,  and  by  separating  the  transgressors  from  their  com- 
munion. 

The  lessons  to  be  learnt  from  the  history  of  this 
church  are  two ;  the  danger  of  ■professors  of  religion 
imitatiyig  the  manners  of  the  age  and  country  in  which 
they  live ;  and  the  sinfulness  in  the  sight  of  God  of  re- 
taining ungodly  persons  in  communion.  In  every  age 
and  every  country,  the  church  has  been  exposed  to  pecu- 
liar trials  of  its  constancy,  consistency,  and  fidelity,  by 
the  prevalence  of  surrounding  evils,  ever  varying  with 
the  circumstances  of  the  times,  but  always  existing  in 
some  form  or  other.  These  it  is  its  wisdom  to  know, 
and  its  duty  to  avoid.  In  these  lie  its  chief  danger,  and 
in  avoiding  them  its  chief  difficulty.  It  is  far  more  easy 
-o  reconcile  ourselv.^s  to  common  and  prevailing  sins, 
than  to  such  as  are  rare  and  infrequent ;  to  follow  the 
multitude  to  do  evil,  \\ian  to  piirsue  a  solitary  or  almost 
deserted  path  of  sin.  Custom  abates  the  dread,  and  in 
the  estimation  of  some  almost  annihilates  the  criminality, 
of  transgression.  That  cannot  be  wrong  which  so  many 
and  such  -reputable  persons  do  without  scruple,  is  the 
false  and  fatal  but  common  logic  by  which  Satan  deludes 
not  only  the  world,  but  also  the  church.  Hence  it  is  the 
duty  of  professors  to  study  well  the  circumstances,  habits, 
customs,  and  tendencies  of  the  times  in  which  they  live, 
in  order  to  ascertain  what  evils  have  obtained  credit 
under  the  veil  of  currency  and  fashion.  God's  laws  do 
do  not  change  with  the  times,  nor  does  he  lower  his  re- 
quirements to  meet  the  relaxed  and  degenerate  morality 
of  a  lukewarm  generation.  We  are  not  to  be  carried 
about  with  divers  and  strange  -practices^  any  more  than 


THE    SEVEN    CHURCHES.  45 

with  divers  and  strange  doctrines:  the  morals  of  (Chris- 
tianity are  as  fixed  and  unalterable  as  its  truths.  1  o  re- 
sist the  tyranny  of  custom,  and  tlie  seductions  of  fash- 
ion ;  to  wade  against  the  stream  of  prevalent  example  ;  to 
be  singular,  when  that  singularity  is  an  emphatic  protest 
and  severe  rebuke,  which  are  sure  to  irritate  the  many 
who  feel  themselves  condemned  ;  to  draw  down  the  taun*^ 
of  an  ostentatious  puritanism,  and  the  imputation  of  an  af- 
fected sanctimoniousness  —  this  is  no  easy  task  —  yet  it 
is  demanded  of  us  all  —  but  can  be  achieved  only  by  an 
earnestness  of  mind  which  amounts  to  a  species  of  moral 
heroism.  Vices  condemned  by  all,  improprieties  which 
are  disgraceful  and  involve  a  loss  of  reputation,  are  easi- 
ly avoided  ;  and  virtues  which  are  in  universal  repute,  as 
easily  practised  ;  but  the  sins  which  are  attended  with  no 
disgrace,  Ijut  on  the  contrary  have  changed  their  names 
into  virtues,  and  are  committed  under  a  plea  of  necessity ; 
and  virtues  which  have  acquired  the  character  of  a  mo- 
rose and  proud  asceticism,  are  shunned  with  aversion  and 
disgust.  Christian  professors  !  the  downward  progress 
of  the  church  of  Christ  has  in  our  age  commenced  ;  the 
deteriorating  process  is  in  operation.  Awake,  open  your 
eyes,  look  around  you  ! 

But  this  is  not  the  only  lesson  taught  by  the  history  of 
the  church  at  Pergamos  :  we  learn  also  how  displeasing,, 
in  the  eyes  of  Christ,  is  impurity  of  communion.  Every 
church  is  intended  to  be  a  light  of  the  world,  not  only  by 
its  creed  but  by  its  conduct.  Holiness  is  light,  as  well  as 
truth.  God  is  light ;  by  which  is  intended  that  he  is; 
holy.  Creeds,  confessions,  and  articles,  except  as  they 
are  sustained  by  their  practical  influence  in  the  fruits  of 
righteousness,  do  little  good  ;  they  may  be  as  the  flame 
which  is  to  illuminate  a  dark  world,  but  the  misconduct 
of  those  by  whom  they  are  professed  so  beclouds  the  glass 
of  the  lamp  with  smoke  and  impurity,  tliat  no  light  comes 
forth,  and  the  lamp  itself  is  unsightly  and  offensive.. 
To  receive  or  retain  unholy  men  as  members  of  our 
churches,  is  a  fearful  corruption  of  the  church  of  Christy 
which  was  ever  intended  to  be  a  ' •  congregation  of  faith- 
ful men,'  a  coirmunion  of  saints.  How  severely  did  the 
4* 


46  ON    THE    EPISTLES    TO 

apostle  rebuke  the  Corinthian  church  for  retaining-  its  in- 
cestuous member,  and  how  peremptorily  did  he  command 
his  excision.  To  retain  notorious  sinners  in  the  fellow- 
ship of  the  church  is  the  most  awful  connivance  at  sin 
which  can  be  practised  in  our  world,  for  it  is  employing 
the  authority  of  that  body  to  defend  the  transgressor  and 
to  apologize  for  his  offence.  There  is  a  strong  repug- 
nance in  some  persons  to  proceed,  almost  in  any  case,  to 
the  act  of  excluding  an  unworthy  member,  just  as  there 
is,  in  cases  of  disease,  to  give  up  a  mortified  limb  to  am- 
putation,—  but  it  must  be  done;  the  safety  as  well  as 
the  comfort  of  the  body  requires  it.  In  the  case  of  sud- 
den falls,  and  single  sins,  where  there  is  a  deep  sense  and 
ingenuous  confession  of  sin,  much  lenity  should  be  ob- 
served ;  but  where  the  sin  is  public  and  aggravated,  and 
the  conscience  hardened,  to  show  mercy  in  such  a  case, 
is  high  treason  against  Christ,  by  retaining  enemies  and 
rebels  in  his  kingdom  who  are  virtually  seeking  its  over- 
throw. The  church  is  a  band  of  witnesses  to  the  neces- 
sity and  excellence  of  holiness,  and  anything  which 
could  enfeeble  or  divaricate  that  testimony  is  infinitely 
mischievous  to  the  cause  of  Christian  morality,  and 
therefore  grossly  insulting  to  him  who  died,  "to  purify 
to  himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works;" 
Whenever  the  church  ceases  to  bear  testimony  for  holi- 
ness, it  abandons  its  commission,  and  is  no  longer  a  wit- 
ness for  Christ.  If  it  lean  to  either  side,  it  should  be  to 
the  side  of  severity  of  discipline,  rather  than  of  laxness, 
•since  it  is  far  better  that  an  offending  member  should 
liave  this  addition  to  the  burden  of  his  punishment,  than 
that  the  character  of  the  church,  as  a  witness  for  holi- 
ness, should  be  impaired.  What  a  horrid  caricature, 
what  a  monstrous  perversion,  what  a  profanity  of  the 
very  idea  of  a  Christian  church,  has  been  given  to  the 
world,  by  the  so-called  church  of  Rome  ;  by  that  sty  of 
beastly  sensuality,  that  slaughter-house  of  horrid  murder, 
that  emporium  of  chartered  crime,  and  commerce  of 
iniquity,  which  t'ne  Vatican  has  presented  in  past  ages 
to  the  eyes  of  an  astonished,  disgusted,  and  loathing 
world !     And  even  now,  what  a  sphere  of  Jesuit  craft, 


THE    SEVEN    CHURCHES.  47 

and  odious  vice,  are  most  of  the  countriis  \vhich  are 
incladed  in  the  Roman  see,  and  within  the  member- 
Bhip  of  the  Roman  church  !  How  summ.arily  and  how 
truly  is  the  whole  described  by  that  one  comprehensive 
and  expressive  phrase,  "The  mystery  of  iniquity!" 
The  true  church  must  be,  and  is,  in  direct  opposition  to 
this  ;  it  bears  upon  its  lofty  front  this  inscription,  "  Holi- 
ness to  the  Lord,"  and  it  stands  out  adorned  with  the 
beauties  of  holiness,  as  a  living  witness  for  him,  who  in 
the  cherubim's  song  is  lauded  as  the  "  Holy,  holy,  holy, 
Lord  God  Almighty." 

THYATIRA,  CHAP.  II.  18. 

"Unto  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Thyatira  write :  I 
know  thy  works,  and  charity,  and  service,  and  faith,  and 
thy  patience,  and  thy  works ;  and  the  last  to  be  more 
than  the  first.  Notwithstanding,  I  have  a  few  things 
against  thee,  because  thou  sufFerest  that,  woman  Jezebel, 
which  calleth  herself  a  prophetess,  to  teach  and  seduce 
my  servants  to  commit  fornication,  and  to  eat  things^  sac- 
rificed to  idols  :  and "  I  gave  her  space  to  repent  of  her 
fornication,  and  she  repented  not.  Behold,  I  will  cast 
her  into  a  bed,  and  tliem  that  commit  adultery  with  her 
into  great  tribulation,  except  they  repent  of  their  deeds. 
And  I  will  kill  her  children  with  death  ;  and  all  the 
churches  shall  know  that  I  am  he  which  searcheth  the 
reins  and  heans  ;  and  I  will  give  unto  every  one  of  you 
according;  to  your  works.  But  unto  you  I  say,  and  unto 
the  rest  in  "^rhyatira,  as  many  as  have  not  this  doctrine, 
and  which  have  not  known  the  depths  of  Satan,  as  they 
speak  ;  I  will  put  upon  you  none  other  burden." 

Thyatira  was  a  city  of  Macedonia,  of  some  celebrity 
in  its  day,  and  is  still  a  considerable  place,  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Turks.  In  the^  church  at  this  place  our  Lord 
saw  much  to  commend.  His  eulogium  is  very  strong. 
There  was  faith,  charity,  patience,  seiTice,  works,  and, 
what  was  the  reverse  of  the  state  of  the  church  in  Ephe- 
sus,  which  had  left  its  first  love,  the  last  works  of  the 
church  hi  Thyatira  were  more  than  the  first.  Of  how 
few  churches  can  this  be  said !     How  many  are  rathop 


48  ON   THE    EPISTLES    TO 

declining  in  piety  than  advancing  ;  but  here  was  growth, 
progress.  Her(  last  love  was  stronger  than  the  first. 
Yet  even  in  this  church  there  was  something  to  condemn  ; 
nor  would  the  good  do  to  set  over  against  the  bad. 

What  is  meant  by  the  woman  Jezebel,  whether  it  is  to 
be  interpreted  literally  of  some  female  of  rank  and  influ- 
ence, set  forth  under  this  name,  who  exerted  a  pernicious 
influence  in  corrupting  the  church  by  false  doctrine,  and 
practices  arising  out  of  it  —  or  whether  it  is  to  be  under- 
stood mystically,  as  importing  a  corrupt  faction,  who, 
though  united  to  God's  people  as  Jezebel  was  by  marry- 
ing an  Israelitish  prince,  yet  were  attached  to  idolatry, 
and  labored  to  seduce  others  into  it,  is  not  easy  to  deter- 
mine ;  nor  is  it  important  to  our  present  purpose  that  it 
should  be  so  determined.  Probably  the  allusion  is  to 
some  false  teachers  who  were  assiduous  in  corrupting  the 
minds  of  the  church.  On  these  wicked  men  Cod  de- 
nounced the  most  awful  threatenings,  if  they  repented  not. 

The  lesson  for  the  churches  to  learn  from  this  epistle 
is,  that  it  is  our  duty  to  set  our  face  against  the  teachers 
of  false  doctrine,  especially  such  doctrine  as  relaxes  the 
bonds  of  moral  obligation,  and  is  opposed  to  the  purity  of 
God's  law. 

When  our  Lord  prayed  in  behalf  of  his  ])eOi)le  that 
they  might  be  sanctified  by  the  truth  ;  and  when  the 
apostle  described  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  as  "  the 
truth  according  to  godliness,"  this  great  sentiment  was 
taught  us,  that  error  is  essentially  polluting  ;  for  if  truth 
sanctif}'',  error  must  corrupt ;  except  two  causes  so  dia- 
metrically opposite  to  each  other  as  truth  and  falsehood 
can  produce  the  same  effects.  The  germ  of  holiness  lies 
hid  in  every  truth,  and  of  sin  in  every  error  ;  and  there- 
fore much  does  it  become  the  church  to  hold  fast  the 
truth.  It  is  a  notion  with  many  that  there  is  no  sin  in 
error.  The  adage  of  Pope  has  been  adopted  by  nmlti- 
tudes  in  these  free-thinking,  latitudinarian  days  : 
"For  modes  of  faith  let  graceless  zealots  light, 
His  can't  be  wrong  whose  life  is  in  tie  right." 

This  is  true  in  the  letter,  but  false  in  the  spirit,  since 
there  can  be  no  right  life,  in  the  scriptural  sense  of  the 


THE    SEVEN    CHURCHES, 


49 


word  "right,"  but  what  comes  from  a  right  mode  of 
faith  —  so  that  if  the  former  be  correct,  so  must  be  the 
latter.  The  intention  of  the  poet,  however,  was  to  anni- 
hilate the  importance  of  distinctive  sentiments  on  religion, 
and  by  insinuating  that  all  were  equally  valuable,  or 
equally  valueless,  to  subvert  the  very  throne  of  truth, 
and  thus  to  do  away  the  authority  and  obligation  of  the 
Bible.  This  hackneyed  couplet  is  a  dreadful  doo-ma  of 
scepticism,  soaked  and  drenched  with  infidelity  to  its  very 
core.  This  bantling  of  infidelity  has  been  foisted  upon 
the  church,  and  profanely  baptized  by  the  name  of  char- 
ity :  depend  upon  it,  it  knows  notiiing  of  charity  but  the 
name,  and  if  the  father  of  it  had  not  renounced  the  Bible, 
he  would  have  kno^^^l  that  errors  of  doctrine,  to  whatever 
extent  they  go,  show  a  mind  not  yet  brought  into  subjec- 
tion to  Christ.  If  a  man  may  renounce  one  truth  of 
revelation,  and  yet  be  sinless,  lie  may  renounce  two  ;  if 
two,  four  ;  if  four,  eight ;  if  eight,  half  the  Bible  ;  if 
half,  the  whole  ;  and  yet  be  innocent.  What,  then,  be- 
come of  those  threatenings  which  are  denounced  against 
all  unbelievers  ;  and  of  those  numerous  passages  which 
suspend  our  salvation  upon  the  reception  of  the  truth  as 
it  is  in  Jesus  ?  It  may  be  difficult  and  altogether  impos- 
sible for  us  to  draw  the  line  between  doctrines  essential 
to  salvation  and  such  as  are  not,,  and  to  fix  upon  that 
kind  and  that  measure  of  error  which  is  incompatible 
with  true  religion  :  we  had  better  not  make  the  attempt, 
but  leave  those  who  hold  false  doctrin€,s  to  the  justice  or 
mercy  of  God.  There  is,  in  this  respect,  the  same  diffi- 
culty in  practical  as  in  speculative  error.  Who  shall 
undertake  to  declare  what  measure  of  sinful  conduct  is 
incompatible  with  personal  safety  as  regards  eternity  ? 
Still  we  may  hold,  and  should  hold,  the  importance  of 
truth,  and  the  sinfulness  of  error,  as  well  as  of  practice, 
and  on  this  ground  should  ' '  earnestly  contend  for  the  faith 
once  delivered  to  the  saints."  Let  this  be  one  object, 
and  no  uiconsiderable  one  either,  of  an  earnest  church,  to 
stand  up  for  the  great  fundamental  truths  of  salvation. 
We  have  arrived  at  a  latiludinarian  age  :  a  spurious  phi- 


60  ON    THE    EIISTLES    TO 

losophy  is  creeping-  over  us  :  an  unconcealed  hostility  to 
those  truths  which  we  had  thought  were  settled  as  the 
faith  of  the  universal  church,  is  now  extensively  mani- 
fested, from  opposition  to  which  we  must  not  shrink 
under  the  pusillanimous  dread  of  being  classed  with  the 
bigots  and  petrifactions  of  a  by-gone  age.  Our  theology 
is  our  glory,  not  indeed  in  the  form  of  a  stiif,  cold,  statue- 
like symmetry  of  dogmatic  system,  but  as  the  warm  life 
blood  flowing-  through  our  practical  religion.  The  at- 
tempt of  many  is  to  persuade  us  to  give  up  and  abandon 
our  creeds  ;  instead  of  this,  our  object  should  be  to  give 
them  life,  vigor,  power,  and  beauty,  in  holy  actions,  spir- 
itual affections,  and  heavenly  aspirations.  The  aim  of 
many  is  to  philosophize  our  faith  into  metaphysical  specu- 
lation :  ours  should  be  to  infuse  faith  into  philosophy. 
Give  up  our  theology  !  Then  farewell  to  our  piety. 
Give  up  our  theology  !  Then  dissolve  our  churches,  for 
our  churches  are  founded  upon  truth.  Give  up  our 
theology  !  Then  next  vote  our  Bibles  to  be  myths ; 
and  this  is  clearly  the  aim  of  many  —  the  destruction  of 
all  these  together,  our  piety,  our  churches,  our  Bibles. 
What  is  it  that  has  given  us  our  confessors  but  our  the- 
ology 1  What  is  the  inscription  emblazoned  on  the  ban- 
ners of  the  noble  army  of  martyrs,  and  that  has  formed 
the  song  to  which  these  moral  heroes  have  marched  to 
battle,  victory,  and  death?  what,  but  the  apostle's  injunc- 
tion, "  Contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to 
the  saints  ?"  Give  up  our  theology  !  Then  what  have 
we  as  the  children  of  God,  begotten  by  the  incorruptible 
seed  of  the  word,  and  taught  to  feed  upon  the  unadulter- 
ated milk  of  the  word,  to  live  upon?  Give  up  our  the- 
ology !  Then  with  what  armor  and  with  what  weapons 
shall  we  carry  on  the  missionary  war  against  the  powers 
of  darkness  in  the  fields  of  paganism  1  Give  up  our  the- 
ology !  And  what  are  we  to  receive  in  return  ?  What 
is  offered  to  us  for  that  which  has  founded  our  churches, 
been  the  theme  of  our  ministers,  the  hfe  of  our  souls,  the 
means  of  all  the  religion  we  have  possessed  ?  What  has 
philosophy  ever  yet  done,  what  can  she  do,  or  is  fitted  to 
do,  for  a  lost  world,  and  a  ruined  race  ;  for  groaning, 


THE    SEVEN    CHURCHES.  51 

oleeding,  dying  humanity?  No,  in  alandonm^  our  the- 
ology, we  give  up  God's  most  glorious  revelation,  ami 
man's  last  hope. 

Let  an  earnest  church,  therefore,  put  out  its  noblest 
and  most  determined  energies  in  holding  last  the  form  of 
sound  words.  Let  there  be  no  coquetting  on  the  part  of 
our  theological  literature  with  unsanctified  genius  in  the 
form  of  infidel  poetry,  and  sceptical  philosophy :  no 
eulogy  on  writers  and  their  productions  avowedly  hostile 
to  Christianity,  unaccompanied  at  any  rate  with  firm, 
calm,  yet  indignant,  protests  against  their  enmity  to  re- 
vealed truth.  Let  there  be  no  attempts  to  catch  a  com- 
pliment from  men  who  hate  our  religion,  for  the  candor 
with  which  their  unbehef  is  treated.  Painful  instances 
of  this  kind  have  occurred  of  late,  in  which  periodicals 
avowedly  devoted  not  only  to  Christianity,  but  to  evan- 
gelical doctrines,  have  spoken  of  infidel  writers  and  their 
worlvs  in  a  style  of  compliment,  not  to  say  flattery,  w^hich 
has  greatly  astonished  and'  sorely  grieved  the  friends 
of  truth.  We  want  not  that  the  just  tribute  to  genius 
should  be  withheld,  much  less  do  we  ask  that  the  m.ost 
virulent  infidels  should  be  assailed  wdth  a  virulence  equal 
to  their  own.  Our  religion  teaches  us  to  be  courteous, 
and  meek,  and  forbearing  :  but  it  teaches  us,  at  the  same 
time,  "not  to  bear  them  which  do  evil,"  and  to  with- 
stand them  to  the  uttermost.  Infidelity  is  never  so  dan- 
gerous as  when  associated  with  poetry  and  philosophy  ; 
and  to  beguile  the  young  to  these  dreadful  snares,  by 
compliments  lavished  on  the  authors  of  the  mischief, 
"without  corresponding  protestations  and  warnings  against 
the  poison,  is  strange  work  for  the  Christian  essayist 
or  reviewer.  What  is  it  but  to  furnish  the  gilt  to  cover 
the  pill,  or  the  honey  to  conceal  the  poison  ?  Never, 
never  was  there  an  era  in  the  history  of  religion,  when 
it  more  became  the  master  minds,  the  heaux-esprits  of 
evangelical  truth,  to  summon  their  energies  to  the  great 
conflict  now  going  on  between  truth  and  error,  and  to 
manifest  an  intense  earnestness  in  upholding  the  divine 
authority  and  momentous  importance  of  evangelical  truth. 


S2  ON   THE    EPISTLES   TO 


SARDIS,  CHAP.  III.  1. 

"  And  unto  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Sardis  write ;  j 
know  thy  works,  that  thou  hast  a  name  that  thou  hvest, 
and  art  dead.  Be  watchful  and  strengthen  the  things 
which  remain,  that  are  ready  to  die;  for  1  have  not 
found  thy  works  perfect  before  God.  Remember  there- 
fore how  thoii  hast  received  and  heard,  and  hold  fast,  and 
repent,  if  therefore  thou  shalt  not  watch,  I  will  come 
on  thee  as  a  thief,  and  thou  shalt  not  know  what  hour  I 
will  come  upon  thee.  Thou  hast  a  few  names  even  in 
Sardis  which  have  not  defiled  their  garments,  and  they 
shall  walk  with  me  in  white,  for  they  are  worthy." 

Sardis  was  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Lydia,  in 
Grecian  liistory,  and,  has  acquired  a  notoriety  by  its  hav- 
ing been  the  seat  of  government  to  a  monarch  whose 
name  has  become  the  proverb  of  wealth,  and  his  end  a 
proof  of  the  instability  of  human  greatness,  —  I  mean 
Croesus. 

The  description  of  the  state  of  this  church  is  not  very 
creditable  to  its  religious  character.  It  had  "  a  name  to 
live,"  by  which  we  are  to  understand  it  was  held  in 
repute  by  surrounding  churches  as  in  a  flourishing  con- 
dition. Its  members  perhaps  were  considerable,  their 
circumstances  respectable,  their  orthodoxy  undoubted, 
and  their  general  conduct  reputable.  They  were  neither 
immoral  nor  heretical  —  but  all  the  while,  though  thus 
esteemed,  the  church  was  dead  ;  not  in  the  fullest  sense 
of  the  term,  but  comparatively  so,  for  in  the  next  clause 
it  is  said,  there  were  some  remains  of  life,  but  which 
seemed  ready  to  expire.  The  charges  brought  against 
it  were  of  a  serious  nature,  alfecting  its  spiritual,  though 
perhaps  not  its  moral,  condition.  Christ  tells  the  mem- 
bers he  had  not  found  their  works  perfect  before 
God,  implying  that  his  churches  ought  to  go  on  unto  per- 
fection —  he  represents  their  piety  as  in  the  lowest  state 
of  declension  —  and  this  was  the  more  sinful,  as  at  one 
time  they  appear  to  have  been  in  a  far  better  state,  from 
which  they  had  backslidden.  Many,  if  not  most  of  them, 
had  defiled  their  garments,  had  soiled  their  profession 


THE    SEVEN    CHUECHES.  53 

and  affections  by  worldly  conformity,  though  perhaps 
not  by  vice.  In  short,  its  condition  was  low,  flat,  and 
languishing,  so  as  to  be  an  illustration  of  the  Saviour's 
metaphor  of  the  salt  that  had  lost  its  savor.  It  is  bad 
for  the  world  to  be  dead ;  for  a  church  to  be  so  is  far 
worse  :  it  is  bad  w^hen  many  individuals  are  so,  but  when 
the  great  bulk  of  a  Christian  community  is  so,  it  is 
deplorable  indeed.  Yet  this  was  not  the  case  with  the 
whole  body,  for  our  Lord  says,  "  There  were  a  few 
names  even  in  Sardis,  which  had  not  defiled  their  gar- 
ments," and  whom  he  would  not  involve  in  indiscrimi- 
nate censure.  For  their  sakes,  for  the  sake  of  their 
reputation  and  their  comfort,  he  excepted  them  from  his 
general  charge  against  the  body. 

The  lessons  to  be  learnt  from  the  epistle  to  this 
church  are  two  :  first.  In  the  midst  of  general  declension 
it  is  possible  for  any  one  to  keep  up  the  power  of  vital 
godliness,  and  in  most  cases  there  are  some  who  do. 
There  are  few  churches  in  which,  however  prevalent  may 
be  the  corruption  of  the  body,  there  are  none  who  are 
exceptions  to  the  general  rule  ;  none  who  are  "  faith tul 
found  among  the  faithless ;"  none  who  mourn  in  secret 
for  the  declension  of  their  brethren,  and  who  by  exam- 
ple and  reproof  endeavor  to  arrest  the  progress  of  decay. 
Even  in  the  most  degenerate  days  of  Israel's  apostasy, 
when  Elijah  knew  not  where  to  look  for  a  second  wor- 
shipper of  the  living  and  true  God,  there  were  seven 
thousand  who  had  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal.  What 
honor  encircles  those  members,  how  precious  are  they  in 
the  eyes  of  God,  who  are  not  carried  away  by  the  swell- 
ing stream  of  corruption,  but  stand  firm  to  the  doctrines 
and  spiritualities  of  the  gospel  profession !  Their  con- 
duct shows  what  can  be  done  to  maintain  our  ground 
against  prevalent  declension.  It  is  a  beautilul  spectacle 
to  see  a  few  consistent,  spiritually-minded  professors 
holdmg  on  the  even  tenor  of  their  way,  when  the  greater 
part  of  the  church  are  gradually  sinking  into  worldly 
conformity ;  bearing  high  the  standard  of  the  cross,  and 
becoming  a  rallying  point  for  all  the  piety  thkt  remains 
in  the  church;  laboring  by  prayer,  example,  and  persua- 
5 


64     ■  ON    THE    EPISTLES    TO 

sion,  to  save  the  walls  of  their  Zion  from  bearing  the 
inscription  of  "  Ichabod ;"  and  amidst  the  indignation, 
contempt,  or  reproach  of  men  whose  consciences  are 
wounded  by  their  testimony,  pursuing  their  holy  and 
blameless  career.  Happy  few !  Your  Master  knows 
your  works,  your  trials,  your  difficulties,.  2nd  will  reward 
them  all.  Be  not  disheartened  therefore  or  discouraged 
by  the  frowns  and  imputations  of  worldly-minded  pro- 
fessors, who  will  not  be  backward  to  set  down  you"» 
conduct  to  spiritual  pride,  to  an  affected  singularity,  oi 
sanctimonious  hypocrisy.  Men  who  withstand  the  cor- 
ruptions of  the  church  can  expect  no  better  treatment 
than  those  who  reform  the  evils  of  the  world.  Nay,  a 
resentment  more  bitter,  an  exasperation  more  angry, 
and  a  malignity  more  envenomed,  will  be  often  cherished, 
by  inconsistent  and  hypocritical  professors  of  religion, 
towards  those  who  rebuke  their  conduct,  than  by  the  men 
of  the  world,  just  because  a  deeper  wound  is  inflicted  in 
their  conscience.  Let  us  covet  to  be  among  the  few  who 
are  counted  worthy  to  stand  in  the  gap  when  a  breach 
has  been  made  in  the  wall,  and  to  keep  out  the  enemy. 
The  prevalence  of  evil  is  no  excuse  for  committing  it. 
God  can,  and  v.dll,  assist  all  who  are  anxious  to  be  kept. 
He  will  inspire  them,  if  they  seek  it,  with  the  courage 
of  heroes,  and  the  constancy  of  martyrs.  He  will  be 
a  wall  of  fire  round  about  them  for  defence,  and  guide 
them  through  every  difficulty  as  by  a  pillar  of  cloud. 
Amidst  envious  eyes  that  watch  them,  spiteful  tongues 
that  love  to  speak  ill  of  them.,  and  hearts  that  wait  for 
their  halting,  he  will  preserve  them  blameless,  and  assist 
them  to  hold  on  their  way.  Let  no  one  say,  I  fear  I 
cannot  be  a  reformer,  or  even  a  witness.  God  can  nerve 
the  most  timid  mind  with  courage,  and  make  the  irost 
faltering  tongue  fluent  in  his  cause,  where  there  is  an 
anxiety  to  maintain  the  purity  of  the  church,  anc  to 
uphold,  amid  such  trying  circumstances,  the  consistency 
of  the  Christian  profession.' 

Secondly.     But  another  and  a  most  impressive  lesson 
which  is  taught  by  this  epistle  is  —  that  churches  may 


THE    SEVEN   CHURCHES.  t)5 

have  a  reputation  for  being  in  a  Jlourishing  conditioUy 
which  are  all  the  lohile  in  a  state  of  progressive  decay. 

It  was  an  impressive  description  which  the  piophet 
gave  of  the  king-dom  of  Israel,  when  he  said,  "  Strangers 
have  devoured  his  strength,  and  he  knoweth  it  not : 
yea,  gray  hairs  are  here  and  there  upon  hirn,  yet  he  loiow- 
eth  it  not."  Hosea  vii.  9.  Decay  is  always  gradual, 
and  in  the  case  of  bodily  consumption  singularly  con- 
cealed from  the  subject  of  it.  Equally  deceptive  is  the 
spiritual  consumption  of  the  soul ;  and  he  who  is  on  the 
very  verge  of  death,  in  some  cases  knows  not  his  danger. 
As  it  is  with  individuals,  so  it  is  also  with  churches  : 
there  may,  to  aiv unpractised  eye,  be  the  appearance  of 
life  and  even  health  associated  with  the  certain  but  insidi- 
ous progress  of  dissolution.  How  many  individuals  and 
churches,  too,  are  not  only  flattering  themselves  that  they 
are  in  a  flourishing  condition,  but  imposing  upon  others 
with  the  same  delusion.  The  place  of  worship  may  be 
commodious,  elegant,  and  free  from  debt  —  the  minister 
popular,  and  approved  by  his  flock  —  the  congregation 
large,  respectable,  and  influential  —  the  communicants 
numerous,  and  harmonious  —  the  finances  good,  and  even 
prosperous  —  the  collections  for  public  mstitutions  liberal 
and  regular  —  in  short,  there  may  be  every  mark  of 
external  prosperity,  till  the  church  flatters  itself,  and  is 
flattered  by  others,  into  the  idea  of  its  being  in  a  high 
state  of  spiritual  health.  It  has  "  a  name  to  live."  But 
now  examine  its  internal  state  —  inquire  into  its  condi- 
tion as  viewed  by  God  —  inspect  the  private  conduct  of 
its  members,  and  ask  for  the  accessions  of  such  as  shall 
be  saved  ;  and  what  a  different  aspect  of  things  is  seen 
then.  How  low  is  the  spirit  of  devotion,  as  evinced  by 
the  neglect  of  the  meetings  for  social  prayer  ;  by  the 
omission  in  many  households  of  family  prayer,  and  by 
the  heartless,  perfunctory,  and  irregular  manner  in  which 
it  is  maintained  in  others  ;  and  by  the  giving  up,  in 
numerous  cases,  of  private  prayer.  How  feeble  is  the 
attachment  to  evangelical  doctrine,  and  how  little  relish 
is  there  for  that  truth  which  is  the  bread  of  life  to  those 
who  hunger  and    thirst   after  righteousness.      Talent, 


Q6  ON   THE    EPISTLES  TO 

talent,  is  the  demand;  "We  want  eloquence,  genius- 
oratory,"  is  the  cry.  Nothing  will  do  without  this,  and 
almost  anything  will  do  with  it.  How  prevalent  is  the 
spirit  of  the  world  in  their  social  intercourse.  Routs  and 
parties,  differing  scarcely  anything  from  the  fashionable 
circles  of  the  worldly  and  the  gay,  are  kept  up  at  mucl. 
expense,  and  with  every  accompaniment  of  frivolity  anc 
levity.  Let  a  stranger,  of  devotional  taste,  and  spiritual 
affection,  and  tenderness  of  conscience,  enter  into  the 
families  and  frequent  the  parties  of  such  a  congregation, 
and  what  a  destitution  would  he  find  of  the  vitality  of 
religion.  Under  the  deceptive  appearance  of  a  large  and 
flourishing  assembly,  an  eloquent  preacher,  and  an  air  of 
general  respectability  and  satisfaction  on  a  Sabbath  day 
in  the  sanctuary,  what  a  deadness  of  the  heart  would  he 
find ;  \vhat  a  prevailing  worldliness  in  the  houses  of  pro- 
fessors. How  many  modern  churches  answer  to  the  con- 
dition of  that  of  Sardis.  Here  is  the  precise  danger  to 
which,  above  most  others,  we  of  this  age  are  exposed, 
especially  the  large  and  externally  flourishing  churches, 
in  the  metropolis  and  the  provincial  tov/ns.  Oh,  let  us 
all,  and  especially  those  who  are  most  in  danger  of  com- 
ing into,  or  are  already  in,  this  deceptive  condition,  exam- 
ine ourselves  before  God.  Let  us  look  beneath  the 
illusive  covering  of  an  external  prosperity,  and  examine 
whether  disease  and  decay  are  lurking  underneath. 

PHILADELPHIA,   CHAP.   IIL   7. 

"  Unto  the  church  in  Philadelphia  \\Trite.  Behold,  i 
have  set  before  thee  an  open  door,  and  no  man  f  An 
shut  it ;  for  thou  hast  a  little  strength,  and  hast  kept 
my  word,  and  hast  not  denied  my  name.  Behold,  I 
will  make  them  of  the  synagogue  of  Satan,  which  say 
they  are  Jews,  and  are  not,  but  do  lie ;  heboid,  I  will 
make  them  to  come  and  worship  before  thy  feet,  and  to 
know  that  I  have  loved  thee.  Because  thou  hast  kept 
the  word  of  my  patience,  I  also  will  keep  thee  fi:om  the 
hour  of  temptation,  which  shall  come  upon  all  the  world, 
to  try  them  that  dwell  upon  the  earth." 

This  is  one  of  the  seven  churches  of  which  no  com- 


THE    SEVEN    CHURCHES.  Si 

plaint  is  made,  and  to  which  no  language  of  censure  is 
addressed.  We  should  judge  they  were  not  distinguished 
by  opulence,  but  what  is  infinitely  preferable,  by  piety. 
They  were  tried  by  severe  persecution,  but  they  kept  the 
word  of  Christ's  patience,  and  though  but  feeble  as  to  all 
that  constituted  worldly  power,  and  not  very  strong  in 
numbers,  they  still  maintained  their  steadfastness,  and 
kept  their  hold  upon  the  truth  with  a  martyr's  grasp.  It 
would  seem  they  had  been  much  tried  by  the  seed  of 
Abraham,  who,  having  rejected  the  true  Messiah,  were  no 
longer  worthy  the  name  of  Jews.  Amidst  all  opposition 
and  discouragement  they  were  exhorted  still  to  persevere, 
by  the  assurance  that  they  should  be  aided  by  Divine  help 
in  their  religious  profession,  and  that  even  their  perse- 
cutors should  be  compelled  to  do  them  honor. 

The  lesson  to  be  gathered  from  the  history  of  this 
church  is  —  that  eminent  piety,  and  especially  immovahh 
steadfastness  in  the  face  of  opposition  and  persecution,  ii 
the  ivay  to  honor. 

There  are  many  intimations  scattered  through  the  Word 
of  God,  that  the  church  is  destined  to  high  distinction  in 
the  earth,  and  to  receive  a  tribute  of  respect  and  honor 
from  the  nations.  The  prophecies  are  full  of  the  most 
glowing  descriptions  of  this  kind ;  and  why  has  she  not 
yet  received  this  promised  tribute  of  respect  1  Just  be- 
cause she  has  not  fulfilled  the  condition  on  which  it  is  to 
be  granted,  and  that  is,  eminent  and  consistent  piety. 
When  she  shall  be  beheld  as  the  tabernacle  of  God  with 
men,  and  as  having  the  glory  of  God ;  when  she  shall 
rise  from  the  dust,  and  put  on  her  beautiful  garments ; 
when  she  shal  be  radiant  with  the  light  of  heaven,  and 
be  adorned  with  all  the  beauties  of  holiness,  then  shall  she 
be  as  a  "  crown  of  glory  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  and 
a  royal  diadem  in  the  hand  of  her  God."  —  "  Their  seed 
shall  be  known  among  the  Gentiles,  and  theu*  offspring 
among  the  people ;  all  that  see  them  shall  acknowledge 
them,  that  they  are  the  seed  which  the  Lord  hath 
blessed." 

As  yet  the  church,  so  far  from  gaining  that  honor  and 
esteem  ivhich  are  so  often  referred  to,  and  so  divinely 
6* 


68  ON  THE    EPISTLES   TO 

promised,  has  been  too  much  an  object  of  contempt  and 
derision ;  not  that  God  has  failed  in  his  promise,  but  she 
has  failed  in  the  terms  upon  which  alone  she  can  expect 
to  be  esteemed.  Religion  has  not  yet  generally  appeared 
in  that  subhme  majesty,  that  heavenly  glory,  that  spot- 
less purity,  and  that  effective  beneficence,  which  alone 
can  command  the  reverence  of  mankind.  Let  her  be  only 
seen  as  a  seraph  from  the  skies,  pure,  benevolent,  and 
consistent,  —  an  image  of  God,  — and  then,  though  she 
may  be  too  holy  for  the  carnal  heart  to  love,  she  will  stili 
command  respect  and  admiration.  Men  will  not  turn 
from  her  with  disgust  and  aversion,  as  from  a  spirit  of 
falsehood  and  mischief;  they  will  not  insult  and  despise 
her,  but  will  consider  it  as  a  species  of  profanity  to  treat 
her  with  rudeness  and  scorn.  It  is  the  feeble,  distorted, 
and  crippled  form  in  which  she  has  too  generally  appeared, 
the  worldliness  of  her  spirit,  so  strangely  contrasted  with 
the  heavenliness  of  her  profession ;  the  loftiness  of  her 
pretensions,  with  the  lowness  of  her  practice  ;  the  extent 
of  her  claims,  with  the  insignificance  of  her  deserts,  that 
has  brought  upon  her  the  contumely  and  derision  which  it 
has  been  hitherto  her  lot  to  receive. 

Who  ever  saw  or  heard  of  a  Christian,  who  united  m 
his  character  all  the  beneficent,  righteous,  and  gentle  vir- 
tues of  the  gospel  profession  ;  whose  very  name  was  a 
guarantee  for  whatsoever  things  are  pure,  just,  honest, 
true,  lovely,  and  of  good  report ;  who  added  to  his  faith, 
virtue,  knowledge,  temperance,  patience,  godliness, 
brotherly  kindness,  and  charity  —  where,  and  when, 
did  such  a  character  exist,  or  one  approaching  reasonably 
to  such  a  standard,  and  not  receive  the  respect  even  of 
his  enemies,  if  he  had  any  1  God  will  compel  men  to  do 
him  homage.  He  will  bring  his  foes  to  his  feet,  and 
make  them  feel  how  he  is  honored  of  God,  and  "  how 
awful  goodness  is."  Yes,  the  greatest  persecutors  have 
sometimes  paid  involuntary  homage  to  eminent  and  con- 
sistent piety,  and  in  every  age,  and  every  country,  exalted 
goodness  has  extorted  confessions  of  respect,  even  where 
it  has  not  conciliated  affection.  It  is  the  exhibition  of 
this  eminent  piety  which,  when  presented  to  the  world, 


THE    SEVEN    CHURCHES.  59 

shall  soften  prejudice,  disarm  opposition,  abate  malignity, 
and  prepare  mankind  more  fully  and  generally  than  they 
have  ever  yet  been,  for  the  reception  of  the  truth  of  God. 

LAODICEA,   CHAP.   HI.    14. 

"And  unto  the  angel  of  the  church  of  the  Laodiceans 
write.  I  know  thy  works,  that  thou  art  neither  cold  nor 
hot ;  I  would  thou  wert  cold  or  hot.  So,  then,  because 
thou  art  lukewarm,  and  neither  cold  nor  hot,  i  will  spue 
thee  out  of  my  mouth.  Because  thou  sayest,  I  am  rich 
and  increased  with  goods,  and  have  need  of  nothing,  and 
knowest  not  that  thou  art  wTetched,  and  mis(3rable,  and 
poor,  and  blind,  and  naked  ;  I  counsel  thee  to  buy  of  me 
gold  tried  in  the  fire,  that  thou  mayest  be  rich,  and 
white  raiment,  that  thou  mayest  be  clothed,  and  that  the 
shame  of  thy  nakedness  do  not  appear,  and  anoint  tliine 
eyes  with  eye-salve  that  thou  mayest  see." 

Of  this  city,  frequent  mention  is  made  in  the  New 
Testament,  as  the  seat  of  a  Christian  church  of  some 
celebrity  among  the  primitive  communities  of  believers. 
It  is  pretty  evident  from  the  epistle  we  are  now  consider- 
ing, that  it  was  considerable  for  the  number  and  wealth 
of  its  members.  Religion  rarely  thrives  amidst  much 
worldly  prosperity.  Our  Lord's  words  contained  a  truth 
which  observation  and  experience  unite  to  confirm. 
"  How  hardly  .shall  they  that  have  riches  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  It  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  pass 
through  the  eye  of  a  needle  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God."  Exceptions  doubtless  there 
are,  but  they  are  only  exceptions.  We  have  known  profes- 
sors of  religion  the  better  for  adversity,  but  who  ever  knew 
one  the  better  for  prosperity  1  If  such  a  case  ever  occurs,  is 
it  not  regarded  as  a  prodigy  of  grace  1  On  the  contrary, 
how  many  have  we  known,  whose  piety  has  dechned  as 
tlieir  wealth  increased  ;  and  even  where  religion  has  not 
totally  disappeared,  amidst  accumulating  opulence,  it  has 
retained  only  the  form  or  shadow  of  what  it  once  was. 
Multitudes  in  eternity  wiU  regard  their  money  as  their 
curse  ;  so  says  the  apostle.  "  They  that  will  be  rich  fall 
into  temptation  and  a  snare,  and  into  many  foolish  and 
hurtful  lusts,  which  drown  men  in  destruction  and  perdi- 


60  ON   THE    EPISTLES   TO 

tion."  1  Tim.  vi.  9.  Yes,' it  is  the  bag  of  gold  thai 
drags  down  the  soul  of  rich  men  into  the  pi..  The  love 
of  money  is  the  cause  of  more  souls  being  lost  than  any 
other  in  all  Christendom.  Hence  rich  churches  are  rarely 
eminent  for  vital  godliness.  The  spiritual  state  of  the 
church  at  Laodicea  verifies  this  remark.  They  were  as 
poor  in  religion  as  they  were  affluent  in  worldly  wealth. 
They  boasted  of  their  prosperity,  saying,  "  I  am  rich." 
It  was  their  matter  of  glorying  ;  they  vaunted  and  were 
puffed  up,  for  w^ealth  generates  pride,  and  fosters  vanity, 
beyond  anything  else.  There  is  more  j5?«-5e-pride  in  ex- 
istence tlian  of  any  other  kind  of  pride,  just  because 
nothing  gives  a  man  more  consequence  in  general  soci- 
ety than  wealth. 

And  what,  all  the  while,  was  the  spiritual  state  of 
this  church  ?  There  is  not  a  syllable  mentioned  in  the 
way  of  commendation ;  they  had  not  grace  enough  to 
furnish  the  Saviour,  inquisitive  as  he  was  for  something  to 
praise,  with  matter  for  one  note  of  approbation.  The 
specific  charge  which  he  brought  against  them  was  luke- 
warmness,  that  middle  state  between  heat  and  cold.  Some 
professors  are  ardent  almost  to  an  enthusiasm  of  zeal ; 
others  cold  to  the  absolute  extinction  of  all  vital  heat ; 
the  one  all  religion,  the  other  no  religion  at  all ;  but  the 
Laodiceans  were  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  ;  they  had 
no  fire,  yet  they  were  not  ice  ;  they  had  no  decided  piety, 
yet  would  not  leave  religion  alone  ;  they  would  not  throw 
off  the  profession  and  forms  of  godliness,  yet  knew  nothing 
of  its  power.  This  state  of  mind  was  peculiarly  offSn- 
Bive  to  Christ.  To  halt  between  God  and  the  world, 
truth  and  error,  holiness  and  sin,  is  worse,  in  some 
respects,  and  in  some  persons,  than  to  be  openly  irreli- 
gious. Corrupt  Christianity  is  more  offensive  to  God 
than  open  infidelity.  No  man  thinks  the  worse  of  religion 
for  what  he  sees  in  the  openly  profane,  but  it  is  far 
othervi'ise  vdth  respect  to  rehgious  professors.  If  he 
that  nameth  the  name  of  Christ  depart  not  from  iniquity, 
the  honor  of  Christ  is  affected  by  his  conduct.  Therefore 
Christ  seemed  to  say,  "  Be  one  thing  or  the  other.  Have 
more  religion  oi  less ;  act  morv'»- consistently,  or  let  religion 
alone  altogether.  ' 


THE    SEVEN   CHURCHES.  61 

Yet  the  church,  though  in  this  depkrable  state,  was 
not  aware  of  its  condition,  but  thought  all  was  gt)ing 
on  well ;  it  did  not  know  that  it  was  wretched,  and  mis- 
erable, and  poor,  and  bhnd,  and  naked."  This  is  sur- 
prising and  affecting,  and  shows,  in  an  alarming  view, 
how  far  self-deception  may  be  carried,  especially  in  the 
case  of  those,  who,  like  the  members  of  the  church  at 
Laodicea,  are  much  taken  up  with  the  enjoyment  of 
worldly  prosperity.  Let  a  professor  of  rehgion  have  his 
mind  much  occupied  with  the  cares  of  business,  and  his 
affections  much  engrossed  with  the  objects  of  sense,  and 
it  is  astonishing  how  ignorant  and  mistaken  he  may  re- 
main as  to  the  real  state  of  his  soul.  Prosperity  is  the 
smoothest,  easiest,  and  most  unsuspected  road  to  the  bot- 
tomless pit. 

The  lesson  to  be  leamt  from  the  condition  of  this 
church  is  too  obvious  to  be  mistaken  or  doubted,  and  too 
impressive  to  be  unfelt  or  unheeded  ;  it  is  this,  lukewarm- 
ncss  in  a  Christian  church  is  a  state  peculiarly  offensive  to 
Christ ;  a  state  which  may  exist  without  heiyig  properly 
known  or  seriously  suspected ;  and  which  is  very  likely  to 
he  produced  by  worldly  prosperity.  There  stands  the 
awful  beacon,  and  will  stand  to  the  end  of  time,  of  this 
corrupt  community,  warning  all  the  churches  of  God 
against  a  state  which  is  as  ruinous  to  themselves  as  it  is 
displeasing,  yea  disgusting,  to  him.  It  is  a  record  which 
every  community  of  Christians  should  frequently  read 
with  most  solemn  awe  ;  and  it  is  a  record  which  it 
especially  becomes  the  churches  of  our  age  and  country 
to  peruse,  since  in  these  days  and  in  this  country  of  Uh- 
erty,  commerce,  wealth  and  ease,  the  danger  of  sinldng 
into  this  condition  is  most  imminent.  Sardis  and  Laodi- 
cea, it  may  be  feared,  furnish  the  types  cf  many  of  the 
churches  of  this  age.  We  can  conceive,  and  perhaps 
describe,  one  of  these  Laodicean  professors.  By  some 
means  or  other,  either  by  an  alarming  illness,  the  death 
of  a  near  relative,  or  an  impressive  sermon,  his  mind  has 
become  a  little  interested  in  the  subject  of  rehgion ;  but 
his  knowledge  of  its  nature  was  never  very  clear,  nor  his 
conviction  of  sin  ever  very  deep,  nor  his  sense  of  tho 


62 


ON    THE    EPISTLES    TO 


need  of  a  Saviour  ever  very  pungent ;  but  still  his  views 
were  sufficiently  correct,  sustained  as  they  were  by  a  good 
moral  character,  to  gain  him  access  to  the  fellowship  of 
the  church,  and  the  table  of  the  Lord.  The  object  of 
liis  solicitude  having  been  gained,  he  soon  loses  what 
little  real  solicitude  he  once  possessed,  and  though  hti 
does  not  abandon  the  forms  of  godliness,  is  evidently 
a  stranger  to  its  power.  He  is  perhaps  engaged  in  a 
prosperous  trade,  the  profits  of  which  accumulate  and 
enable  him  to  command  the  elegances  and  the  luxuries 
of  fashionable  life,  or  at  any  rate  the  substantial  comforts 
of  a  competent  fortune.  He  is  now  taken  up  almost  ex- 
clusively with  business,  and  worldly  enjoyment.  All 
spirituality  is  evaporated  from  his  mind  ;  religion,  as  a 
source  of  personal  enjoyment,  a  fount  of  real  bliss,  an 
object  of  experimental  interest,  has  ceased.  Private 
prayer  is  given  up,  or  confined  to  a  few  hurried  and 
heartless  expressions  uttered  on  retiring  to  rest,  or  rising 
hastily  from  it.  As  to  communion  with  God,  if  he  ever 
knew  it,  he  has  lost  it.  His  family  prayers  are  irregular, 
formal,  or  totally  relinquished.  His  family  are  brought 
up  almost  without  the  least  care  or  anxiety  for  the  forma- 
tion of  then-  religious  character,  for  he  has  married  a 
woman  without  decided  rehgion,  and  who  is  one  with 
him  in  all  his  worldly  habits.  There  is  taste,  elegance, 
fashion,  amusement,  in  his  house,  but  the  stranger  who 
visits  him  neither  sees  nor  hears  anything  of  rehgion. 
All  is  gayety  in  the  way  of  parties  and  entertainments. 
On  the  Sabbath  he  goes  regularly  once,  perhaps  twice, 
to  public  worship ;  that  is,  his  body  is  there,  for  his 
thoughts  are  on  his  busir  jss,  his  wealth,  or  his  pleasure. 
The  prayers  kindle  no  devotion,  the  sermon  yields  no 
religious  enjoyment.  To  ordmary  religious  truth,  how- 
ever rich  and  full  the  exhibition  of  fundamental  gospel 
doctrine,  he  is  quite  insensible,  though  upon  an  extraor- 
dinary display  of  pulpit  eloquence,  by  some  gifted 
preacher,  he  bestows  both  attention  and  eulogium.  He 
is  an  admirer  of  talent,  and  is  gratified  by  its  displays. 
He  is  found,  also,  at  the  Lord's  table  ;  but  though  Jesus 
Christ  is  there  evidently  set  forth,  crucified  before  him, 
his  heart  never  melts  with  penitence,  nor  glows  with  love, 


THE    SEVEN    CHURCHES.  63 

nor  experiences  the  peace  of  believing.  As  to  the  week- 
ly meetings  for  prayer  or  preaching,  these  have  been 
entirely  given  up  ;  nor  does  he  take  any  interest  in  the 
affairs  of  the  church,  or  the  usefulness  and  comfort  of  the 
pastor.  His  love  of  the  world,  unsubdued  by  faith,  makes 
him  in  his  business,  sharp,  eager,  overreaching,  so  as  to 
make  others  complain  of  him,  suspect  him,  and  reproach 
him.  In  his  temper  he  is  perhaps  passionate,  implacable, 
and  litigious.  Yet  all  this  while  he  is  a  professor  of  re- 
ligion, a  member  of  a  Christian  church,  and  known  to  be 
such.  He  does  not  cast  off  his  religion,  or  rather  his  pro- 
fession of  it,  but  he  retains  it  only  to  dishonor  it.  Now 
this  is  lukewarmness,  and  it  is  a  representation  which  in 
various  degrees  suits  thousands  and  thousands  of  the  mem- 
bers of  all  denomuiations  at  the  present  day.  Such 
members  are  to  be  found  in  all  our  churches,  corrupting 
the  communion,  grieving  the  pastor,  discrediting  religion, 
deceiving  themselves,  and  offending  Christ.  There  may 
he  no  foul  blots,  no  great  scandals,  no  grievous  falls, 
which  call  for  excommunication  ;  these  but  rarely  occur, 
and  are  not  after  all  the  chief  source  of  discredit  to  reli- 
gion, and  of  hindrance  to  its  extension  ;  it  is  lukewarmness, 
that  slothlike  vice,  which  deteriorates  its  nature,  degrades 
its  dignity,  rendering  it  a  low  and  reptile  thing,  and  which 
by  its  extensive  prevalence,  not  only  destroys  the  souls 
of  those  who  are  subject  to  it,  but  spreads  the  odious 
infection  far  and  wide. 

What  renders  it  the  more  alaiming  is  that  the  luke- 
warm are  not  sufficiently,  or  not  at  all,  aware  of  their 
own  destitute  and  miserable  condition.  Having  dwelt  on 
this  in  considering  the  state  of  the  church  at  Sardis, 
which  very  nearly  resembles  that  of  Laodicea,  it  is  un- 
necessary to  enlarge  upon  it  here. 

Having,  with  as  much  brevity  as  I  could  employ,  thus 
exhibited  the  contents  of  these  instructive  and  impressive 
addresses,  I  would  once  more,  before  I  go  on  to  other 
parts  of  this  work,  commend  with  all  the  earnestness  I 
can  express,  the  perusal  of  them  to  tte  churches  of  our 
day.  In  no  part  of  Scripture  shall  (ve  find  a  clearei 
statement  of  what,  as  regards  the  spiritual  condition  of 


64     ON  THE  EPISTLES  TO  THE  SEVEN  CHURCHES. 

a  church,  Christ  requires  of  his  people.  Nowhere  sliall 
we  find  a  more  correct  standard  by  which  to  examine  our 
condition,  or  a  more  inteUigible  rule  by  which  to  guide 
our  conduct.  If,  in  the  epistles  of  Paul,  and  Peter,  and 
James,  and  in  the  other  epistles  of  John,  we  find  a  more 
expanded  view  of  Christian  doctrine  and  morality,  we 
find  here,  more  than  in  almost  any  other  part  of  the 
"Word  of  God,  that  which  turns  our  attention  inward  up- 
on the  state  of  spiritual  life  in  the  church.  Here  are 
disclosed  to  us  those  heart-diseases,  so  to  speak,  which 
may  be  impairing-  the  health,  and  imperiling  the  very 
life,  of  a  Cliristian  community,  and  which  may  be  carry- 
ing on  the  work  of  destruction  almost  without  being 
suspected.  No  part  of  the  word  of  God  deserves  more 
of  the  attention  of  the  pastorate  of  this  day,  than  this 
■which  we  have  been  now  considering.  No  minister  can 
do  a  better  service  to  his  church,  and  to  his  age,  than 
by  an  able,  faithful,  and  practical  exposition  of  these  im- 
portant addresses.  By  God's  blessing  upon  such  a  ser- 
nce,  the  church  must  be  the  better  for  it,  when  it  has 
been  well  and  diligently  performed.  Nor  should  it  be  felt 
as  an  objection  to  such  a  labor,  that  the  other  parts  of 
this  mysterious  book  are  not  yet  clearly  understood, 
and  that  as  this  is  a  part  of  the  whole,  to  touch  this 
without  going  on,  is  but  a  fragmentary  work.  In  reply, 
it  may  be  said,  that  these  letters  are  each  complete  in 
itself,  as  much  so  as  Paul's  epistles,  and  furnishes  lessons 
distinct,  separate,  and  important,  though  no  other  part 
be  handled.  Here  are  instructions  of  momentous  con- 
ssequence  to  be  attended  to,  and  which  may  be  under- 
stood, though  the  seals,  the  vials,  and  the  trumpets, 
now  covered  with  a  cloud  of  hieroglyphics,  which  per- 
haps nothing  but  futurity  will  ever  disclose,  should 
remain  unintelligible  to  the  most  sagacious  expositor. 
To  explore  this  rich  vein  of  divine  truth  requires  no  great 
skill  in  spiritual  mining.  No  surer  or  better  method  can 
be  taken  to  obtain  an  earnest  church  than  a  general  dispo- 
sition in  ministers  to  endeavor  to  fix  the  attention  of  their 
flocks  upon  these  epistles  to  the  seven  churches  which 
^ere  in  Asia. 


CHAPTER    III. 

NATURE  OF  EARNESTNESS,  VIEWED  WITH  REFERENCE 
TO  INDIVIDUAL  ACTION,  AND  PRIMARILY  AS  REGARDS 
PERSONAL    RELIGION. 

The  first  and  most  important  concern  of  the  church  of 
Christ  is  its  own  internal  spiritual  condition.  Its  care 
and  solicitude  must  commence  with  laborious  efforts  for 
its  own  improvement.  It  must  be  turned  inwards  upon 
its  own  state  before  it  seeks  to  employ  itself  for  the  good 
of  others.  As  God's  instrument  for  thd  conversion  of 
the  world,  it  must  be  fitted  for  its  work,  and  become  a 
vessel  fit  for  the  Master's  use.  Its  zeal  must  not  be  a 
thing-  separate  from  its  piety,  but  a  part  of  it ;  not  even 
a  foreign  graft  upon  the  stock,  but  a  branch  growing  out 
of  it,  the  putting  forth  of  its  own  living  principle,  and  an 
activity  sustained  by  its  own  internal  vigor.  No  other 
zeal  will  live  long,  or  be  very  successful  wliile  it  lives  ; 
any  other  will  be  only  an  excrescence  or  a  parasite. 
The  church  cannot  be  an  earnest  one,  in  the  true  sense 
of  the  term,  without  being  in  a  high,  or  at  least  in  a 
healthy,  state  of  spiritual  religion  within  itself. 

The  more  active  it  is  in  the  way  of  proselyting,  the 
more  devoted  it  should  be  in  the  way  of  piety.  With- 
out this,  even  the  present  missionary  ardor,  instead  of 
being  as  the  light-house  of  the  world,  will  be  but  as  a 
bonfire  upon  the  heights  of  Zion,  a  transient  blaze,  which 
will  soon  burn  itself  out,  but  which  will  yield  no  perma- 
nent illumination.  Here  then  must  be  our  starting  point ; 
to  begin  anywhere  else  is  to  begin  in  the  middle.  It  is 
one  of  Satan's  deep  devices  to  call  off  the  attention  of 
the  church  from  its  own  state,  to  the  condition  of  the 
world  without  and  around  her.  He  cares  but  little  for 
the  efforts  of  a  feeble  church,  or  a  lukewarm  mind.  He 
6 


66  EARNESTNESS    IN 

fears  more  from  the  attacks  of  a  single  troop  of  deter* 
mined  heroes,  than  from  an  army^f  timid,  half-hearted, 
and  untrained  soldiers.  We  must  take  care,  therefore, 
not  to  look  away  from  ourselves.  Ministers  must  be 
•watchful  of  the  state  of  their  churches  to  keep  up  an 
intense  piety  there,  and  the  churches  must  enter  into 
this  the  design  of  their  pastors.  The  army  that  would 
invade  and  conquer  the  world  must  itself  be  in  a  good 
state  of  disciphne,  courage,  arms,  and  personal  health. 

We  bring  forward  the  remark  we  have  already  applied 
to  the  work  of  bearing  testimony,  and  of  evangelization, 
to  apply  it  to  the  subject  of  this  chapter  ;  and  it  is  a 
remark  of  so  much  importance,  and  so  liable  to  be  for- 
gotten, that  it  will  be  kept  before  the  reader  through  the 
whole  of  this  volume.  There  are  some  views  so  impor- 
tant, that  in  reference  to  them  tautology  is  not  only 
justifiable,  but  an  excellence  —  and  this  concerning  indi- 
viduality is  one  of  them.  The  earnest  piety  of  the 
church  consists  of  the  earnest  piety  of  its  individual 
members.  No  illusion  is  more  common,  both  in  civil 
and  sacred  things,  than  for  membership  to  weaken  the 
sense  of  responsibility,  and  even  to  cause  an  oblivion  of 
individuality.  There  can  be  joint  action,  but  no  joint 
piety  or  conscience.  There  are  many  things  a  man  can- 
not do  without  the  cooperation  of  others,  but  religion  is 
not  of  this  number.  AH  its  obligations,  all  its  duties,  all 
its  privileges,  belong  to  man  as  an  individual,  with  the 
exception  of  the  duties  of  social  worship.  The  piety  of 
a  community  is  made  up  of  the  piety  of  its  individual 
members  :  there  being  just  as  much  religion  in  the  whole 
as  there  is  in  all  ^ts  separate  parts,  and  no  more.  But 
we  forget  this.  We  talk  of  the  religion  of  the  church, 
the  duty  of  the  church,  forgetting  that  this  means  our 
individual  duty,  our  personal  religion.  What  we  mean, 
then,  in  this  volume,  is  the  intense  devotion,  the  spiritual 
earnestness,  of  each  professing  Christian  ;  and  what  we 
aim  at  is  to  prevent  each  individual  from  looking  away 
from  himself  to  the  body  of  which  he  is  a  member, 
and  to  compel  him  to  look  upon  himself.  What- 
ever is  required  in  the  way  of  more  consecration  to  God, 


PBKSOSTAL   RELIGION.  67 

more  religion  is  required  of  you,  each  one  of  you,  who 
shall  read  these  pages.  Do  not  satisfy  yourself  by  think- 
ing or  saying  that  the  church  must  be  in  earnest ;  but 
say  to  yourself,  "/must  be  in  earnest,  for  I  am  a  part  of 
the  church."  It  is  another  of  Satan's  deep  devices  to 
keep  the  eye  and  mind  of  individual  members  directed 
away  from  themselves,  and^xed  upon  the  body.  He 
will  allow  us  to  utter  what^amentations,  and  to  make 
what  resolutions,  we  please  concerning  the  whole,  as  long 
as  we  keep  away  from  ourselves  as  parts  of  the  whole. 
It  is  individualism  he  fears,  more  than  Catholicism. 

Our  idea  of  the  nature  of  earnest  individual  piety 
must  be  taken,  not  from  the  conventional  standard  of  the 
age,  hut  from  the  Word  of  God.  It  is  of  immense 
importance  to  bear  this  in  recollection,  and  to  admit  its 
truth.  It  must  be  so,  whether  we  admit  it  or  no.  Once 
give  up  the  Bible  as  the  only  true  standard  of  personal 
religion,  and  there  is  no  rule  left  but  custom,  which  is 
ever  varying  with  the  opinions  and  corruptions  of  the 
times.  On  this  principle  all  but  the  very  lowest  stages 
of  apostasy  might  be  justified,  for  they  were  the  con- 
ventional notions  of  their  day.  No,  the  Bible,  the  Bible 
alone,  is  the  religion  of  Christians.  "  To  the  law  and 
to  the  testimony  ;  if  they  speak  not,  and  act  not,  accord- 
ing to  them,  it  is  because  there  is  no  hght  in  them." 
Yet  how  prevalent  is  the  disposition  to  conform  ourselves 
to  the  prevailing  religion  of  the  day  and  of  the  church 
to  which  w'e  belong,  and  to  satisfy  ourselves  with  the 
average  measure  of  piety  around  us.  "I  am  as  good  as 
my  neighbors,"  is  the  shield  with  which  many  a  man 
repels  the  charge  of  deficiency.  "  I  am  as  good  as  my 
fellow-members,"  is  the  self-same  shield  with  which  a 
professor  of  religion  wards  off"  the  allegation  of  his  being 
below  his  duty.  The  very  same  conventionalism  which 
ruins  Ihe  world,  corrupts  the  church.  That  which  keeps 
down  the  standard  of  morality  in  the  one,  depresses  the 
standard  of  piety  in  the  other.  This  has  been  the  fatal 
practical  error  of  the  church  through  every  age  of  its 
existence,  and  by  which  its  beauty  has  been  disfigured, 
its  power  weakened,  and   its   usefulness  impeded :   its 


68 


EARNESTNESS    IN 


members,  mstead  of  looking  into  the  perfect  law  oi 
Scripture,  and  seeing  themselves  reflected  from  that 
faithful  mirror,  and  adjusting  their  character  and  conduct 
by  its  infallible  revelations,  have  placed  before  themselves 
the  glass  of  the  Christian  profession  as  it  was  found  in 
the  church  of  the  day,  and  have  regulated  their  beha^dor 
by  what  they  saw  in  the  prevailing  character  of  their 
fellow-Christians.  Thus  a  constant  multiplication  of 
corrupted  copies  is  going  on,  and  religion  as  seen  in  the 
conduct  of  its  professors,  and  as  it  is  described  in  the 
pages  of  its  own  inspired  rule,  are  quite  different  things- 
Hence  the  necessity  of  occasionally  bringing  under 
review,  in  a  condensed  form,  the  testimony  of  Scripture 
on  the  nature  of  earnest  religion. 

First.  What,  then,  says  the  Bible  in  answer  to  this 
question,  "  What  is  earnest  piety?  " 

Perhaps,  after  what  has  been  said  in  our  remarks  upon 
the  epistles  to  the  seven  churches  in  Asia,  this  is  almost 
unnecessary  ;  but  the  scattered  illustrations  presented  in 
those  beautiful  addresses  may  be  brought  into  a  collected 
form,  and  if  this  does  not  show  at  once  the  nature  and 
necessity  of  earnestness  in  religion,  nothing  can. 

1.  Consider  the  general  design  of  religion,  so  far  as 
man  is  concerned :  now  this  is  summed  up  in  that  one 
word,  salvation — the  salvation  of  the  soul' — the  great 
salvation  —  the  common  salvation  —  the  salvation  of 
man's  immortal  soul  from  sin,  from  death,  from  hell,  to 
pardon,  holiness,  peace,  and  heaven,  and  all  this  for 
eternity.  What  a  word  !  Salvation  !  What  ideas,  — 
heaven,  hell,  eternity !  Eternal  existence,  with  every- 
thing that  can  make  that  existence  happy.  Here  is  our 
situation ;  life  is  a  probation  and  a  discipline  for  eternity. 
We  are  here  to  obtain  salvation,  to  enjoy  its  first  fruits, 
and  to  meeten  for  the  full  possession.  And  now  just 
glance  at  the  representation  of  the  state  of  mind  which 
the  Scripture  represents  as  in  those  who  are  pursuing 
this  salvation,  and  in  reference  to  it.  "  Seek  ye  first  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness,"  i.  e.,  let  this  be 
the  object  of  your  most  intense  desire,  most  eager,  con- 
stant and  persevering  pursuit,  so  that  ever  Vthing  else 


PERSONAL   RELIGION.  09 

shall  be  brought  into  subordination  to  it.  "  We  look 
not  at  tlie  things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things  wbieh 
are  not  seen ;  for  the  things  which  are  seen  are  tem- 
poral, but  the  things  which  are  not  seen  are  eternal," 
i.  e.,  "Our  eye  is  constantly  upon  eternity.  We  see 
all  things  in  their  relations  to  ^his,  and  can  scarcely  see 
anything  else.  We  regulate  all  our  conduct  by  a 
regard  to  eternity.  We  are  so  httle  affected  by  tempo- 
ral things  that  they  seem  scarcely  to  exist,  while 
heavenly  and  eternal  things  seem  to  be  the  only  reali- 
ties."    This  is  earnestness. 

2.  Consider  the  scriptural  representation  of  the  par- 
ticular branches  of  true  religion. 

—  Take  piety  towards  God. 

Rehgion  in  man,  who  is  a  sinner,  must  of  course 
include  conviction  of  sin,  true  penitence,  and  ingenuous 
confession  :  "  The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken  spirit, 
a  broken  and  a  contrite  heart."  What  an  expression, 
a  broken  heart !  how  comprehensive,  how  emphatic ! 
What  a  sense  of  sin  is  included  in  that  one  striking 
phrase,  "  a  broken  heart!" 

—  What  a  conspicuous  place  in  religion  does  faith 
bear !  How  it  runs  through  the  whole  texture  of  the 
New  Testament,  as  the  silken  cord  which  binds  all  parts 
of  our  rehgion  !  "  We  are  justified  by  faith  —  we  live 
by  faith  —  we  work  by  faith."  Now  faith  is  not  mere 
opinion,  a  mere  hearsay  assent,  an  hereditary  educational 
notion  ;  but  a  conviction,  a  mental  grasp,  a  martyr's  hold 
upon  the  gospel  of  salvation  ;  a  living  upon  Christ,  upon 
heaven,  and  for  eternity. 

—  Then  there  is  love;  not  a  loving  in  word  only,  but 
in  deed  and  in  truth.  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with 
all  thy  mind."  "  The  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us  ," 
i.  e.,  bears  us  away  with  the  force  of  a  torrent.  What 
an  intensity  of  emotion  do  these  words  imply !  A 
love  that  fills  up  all  the  intellect,  and  all  the  heart,  and 
all  the  hfe. 

—  Faith,  v/here  it  is  real,  brings  peace  and  joy ;  for  if 
there  be  no  peace  there  can  be  no  faith,  and  there  will  be 

6* 


70  EARNESTNESS    IN 

as  much  peace  as  there  is  of  faith  ;  hence  we  read  that 
the  fi:uit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  even  a  peace 
that  passeth  understanding,  a  joy  unspeakable  and  full 
of  glory :  a  joy  which  continues  even  when  we  are  in 
manifold  trials. 

—  True  religion  inspires  an  ardor  of  devotion.  How 
intense  were  the  breathings  of  the  Psalmist's  sou  after 
God  !  How  his  very  heart  seemed  to  glow,  and  burn, 
and  melt  with  devotion  !  And  the  apostle  also,  in  describ- 
ing our  duty,  says,  "  We  are  to  be  fervent  in  spmt,  serv- 
hig  the  Lord." 

—  The  piety  of  the  New  Testament  necessarily  in- 
duces a  deep-toned  spirituality.  "To  be  spiritually 
minded,  k  life  and  peace,"  By  this  we  are  to  under- 
stand a  spontaneous,  prevaihng,  and  delightful  propensity 
to  meditate  on  divine  truth,  and  holy  things  ;  and  allied 
to  this  is  heavenly-mindedness,  or  an  habitual  tendency  to 
dwell  on  the  glory  to  be  revealed.  We  are  "  to  be  risen 
with  Christ,"  and  to  "  seek  those  things  which  are  above  ; 
setting  our  affections  on  things  above,  where  Christ  sit- 
teth  on  the  right  hand  of  God;"  we  are  to  be  waiting 
for  the  Son  of  God  from  heaven,  and  to  be  looking  for 
his  coming  as  our  blessed  hope,  above  all  other  hopes. 
This  waiting  for  Christ  was  in  an  eminent  degree  char- 
acteristic of  the  primitive  Christians  ;  it  is  frequently 
mentioned  by  the  apostles,  and  seems  to  have  been  a 
prevailing  feeling  of  the  churches  ;  and  all  earnest  Chris- 
tians now  have  the  same  spirit.  The  bride,  the  Lamb's 
wife,  is,  and  must  be  supposed  to  be,  ever  looking  for 
the  return  of  the  heavenly  Bridegroom.  The  want  of 
this  habitual  looking  for  the  return  of  Christ  indicates  a 
low  state  of  piety,  a  prevalence  of  worldly-mindedness 
among  professing  Christians. 

—  True  religion  includes  a  si^J/wo-a^wn  of  the  world: 
"  This  is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world.  e%en  our 
faith."  "  If  any  man  love  the  world,  the  love  of  the 
Father  is  not  in  him."  "  Ye  are  dead,  and  your  life  is 
hid  \^ ith  Christ  in  God."  How  strong  an  expression, 
**  Ye  are  dead!"     Dead   [>  sin  —  dead  to  the  world  —  to 


PERSONAL    RELIGION.  71 

things  seen  and  temporal  —  a  corpse  amidst  all  these 
matters ! 

—  There  is  in  the  Lord's  people  a  hungering  and  thirst- 
ing after  righteousness.  Do  we  consider  how  craving  an 
appetite  is  hungering  after  food,  and  thirst  after  water? 
So  are  we  to  long  and  pant  for  holiness. 

—  If  there  be  earnest  piety  there  must  of  necessity  be 
a  s-pirit  of  frayer.  We  are  to  be  "  instant  in  prayer," — 
"  to  pray  always," — "  to  pray  alwa^^s  with  all  prayer," 

—  to  be  importunate  in  prayer  —  to  enter  into  our  closet 

—  to  pray  with  the  family,  and  to  join  in  public  prayer. 
Our  whole  life  is  to  be  in  one  sense  a  continued  devotional 
exercise, 

—  Rehgion  implies  habitual,  minute,  and  anxious  con- 
scientiousness. Having  in  all  things  "  a  conscience  void 
of  offence,  both  towards  God  and  towards  man,"  and 
"  avoiding  even  the  appearance  of  evil." 

—  Earnest  piety  requires  a  constant,  diligent,  and  spir- 
itual attendance  ufon  all  the  prescribed  means  of  grace  — 
the  holy  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  the  assembling  of 
ourselves  together  for  public  worship,  the  celebration  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  the  devout  reading  of  the  Word 
of  God. 

—  To  sum  up  all,  if  we  are  fervent  in  spirit,  serving 
the  Lord,  we  shall  endeavor  to  comply  with  the  apostle's 
exhortation  where  he  saith,  "  Whether  )^e  eat,  or  drink, 
or  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God."  And 
we  shall  copy  his  example  in  that  description  of  his  end 
of  life  where  he  says,  "  For  me  to  live  is  Christ." 

But  there  is  another  branch  of  true  religion  :  God  has 
taken  under  his  protection,  sanction,  and  enforcement,  all 
the  interests  of  our  fellow-creatures  :  and  it  is  therefore 
as  much  a  part  of  our  business  to  promote  these,  as  it  is 
to  practise  the  duties  of  piety  towards  God. 

—  How  large  and  prominent  a  place  does  charity,  or 
love,  bear  in  our  Christian  obligations!  "  Charity  suf- 
fereth  long,  and  is  kind  ;  charity  envieth  not ;  charity 
vaunteth  not  itself,  is  not  puffed  up  :  doth  not  behave 
itself  unseemly ;  seeketh  not  her  own  ;  is  not  easily  pro- 
voked ;  tbinketh  no  evil ;  rejoiceth  not  in  iniquity,  but 


72  EARNESTNESS    IN 

• 

rejoiceth  in  the  truth  ;  beareth  all  thing^s,  bel  eveth  all 
things,  hopeth  all  things."  How  beautiful  a  virtue,  but 
how  difficult !  This  is  what  our  Lord  enjoins  where  he 
commands  us  to  love  our  neighbor  as  ourselves  :  a  dispo- 
sition which  means  that  we  are  to  do  nothing  to  produce 
the  misery,  and  everything  to  promote  the  happiness,  of 
our  fellow-creatures. 

—  As  a  branch  of  this  we  are  to  be  merciful,  tender- 
hearted, sympathizing,  and  full  of  practical  compassion. 
—  Nor  are  we  to  stop  here,  but  are  to  follow  "  whatso- 
ever things  are  true,  whatsoever  things  are  honest, 
whatsoever  things  are  just,  whatsoever  things  are  pure, 
whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatsoever  things  are  of 
good  report."  So  that  the  most  refined  morahty  is  a 
necessary  part  of  true  religion. 

If  we  are  earnest  in  religion,  we  shall  aim  to  let  its 
power  regulate,  and  its  beauty  adorn,  all  our  social  rela- 
tionships,  and  all  that  is  to  be  done  in  the  state,  and  in 
the  family,  will  be  performed  under  its  influence. 

And  because  motives  have  much  to  do  with  actions, 
and  contain  all  in  them  that  is  moral,  and  because 
thoughts  and  feelings  ai'e  the  seeds  of  actions,  a  man 
who  is  earnest  in  religion  will  pay  most  assiduous  atten- 
tion to  the  state  of  his  mind :  will  watch  the  heart  with 
all  diligence  ;  will  often  scrutinize  his  soul,  and  will 
crucify  ^he  affections  and  lusts  of  his  corrupt  nature. 

Nor  must  he  stop  here,  for,  knowing  his  own  weak- 
ness, he  will  pray,  wrestle,  and  agonize,  for  the  power 
of  the  Spirit  to  help  his  infirmities.  He  must  have  grace, 
or  he  will  fall.  He  cries  to  God  in  fervor  and  faith  for 
the  aid  without  which  he  cannot  take  a  step,  and  will 
gladly  place  himself  under  the  teaching  and  guidance  of 
this  ever-present,  all-sufficient  Agent. 

Such  is  a  ccndensed  view  of  the  Scripture  account  of 
true  religion.  If  anything  more  than  this  were  required 
to  set  forth  the  necessity  of  earnestness,  we  must  refer 
to  the  figures  under  which  the  divine  life  is  exhibited  in 
the  Word  of  God.  It  is  a  race  —  what  preparation, 
what  laying  aside  of  encumbrances,  what  intense  solici- 
tude, and  what  strenuous  exertion,  are  here  imphed  !     It 


PERSONAL    RELIGION.  73 

is  a  conflict^  a  fight  of  faith  —  what  anxiety,  what  peril, 
what  skill,  what  courage,  w^hat  struggling,  are  included 
in  the  strife  of  the  battle-field  !  It  is  «  warfare  — •  what 
self-denial,  what  perseverance,  what  labor,  are  required 
for  such  a  journey  ! 

It  is  impossible  not  to  be  struck,  in  reading  such  an 
account,  with  the  idea  that  here  is  something  more  than 
a  round  of  ceremonies,  a  course  of  physical  exertion,  a 
routine  o:'  mechanical  action.  This  is  not  a  mere  repe< 
tition  of  prayers,  and  counting  of  beads,  and  holdmg  of 
vigils,  which  are  all  a  mere  bodily  service  ;  no,  what  is 
here  laid  down  is  a  reasonable  service,  a  course  of  action 
for  the  intellect,  the  will,  the  heart,  the  conscience,  and 
all  the  more  difficult  for  being-  mental  :  calling  for  reflec- 
tion, determination,  resolute  purpose,  and  resistance  of 
opposition. 

This,  be  it  recollected,  is  not  man's  device,  but  God's 
prescription.  It  is  not  what  the  ministers  of  the  gospel 
have  determined  upon,  but  what  God  has  set  before  us. 
Whether  we  like  it  or  not,  there  it  is,  every  sentiment  of 
it  drawn  from  the  Bible.  We  may  complain  of  it  as 
being  too  strict,  but  this  must  be  settled  with  God,  since 
it  is  no  stricter  than  he  has  thought  fit  to  make  it.  Let 
us  read,  mark,  learn,  and  inwardly  digest  it.  Let  us  set 
it  before  us.  Let  us  turn  away  from  the  religion  we  see 
in  the  church,  to  the  religion  we  read  in  the  Bible.  Let 
us  not  listen  to  what  man  says  is  necessary,  but  to  what 
God  says  is  necessary.  Let  us  go  for  our  information, 
not  to  the  imperfect  and  blurred  copy  in  the  ordinary  pro- 
fession, but  to  the  perfect  and  unspotted  original. 

Secondly.  A  question,  however,  will  now  suggest 
itself  to  some  minds,  " /s  this  oxir  standard?  Is  this 
representation  of  the  nature  of  true  piety  intended  for  us 
as  our  guide,  and  is  it  obligatory  upon  us  ?  Strange 
that  such  a  question  should  be  asked.  Is  the  Bible  ours, 
and  given  for  us,  and  are  its  contents  binding  upon  us, 
as  they  were  on  those  who  first  received  it  from  the  hand 
of  God  ?  Who  among  professing  Christians  ever  doubted 
it,  except  some  few  modern  semi-infidels,  who  tell  us  the 
Bible  WIS  a  very  good  book,  and  Jesus  Christ  a  very 


74  EARNESTNESS    IN 

good  1  eacher  for  the  earlier  times  of  Christianity,  but  that,' 
in  the  progress  of  reason,  and  the  advance  of  science  and 
civilization,  both  may  be  dispensed  with.  But  we  have 
not  so  learned  Christ.  We  profess  to  believe  that  the 
inspired  volume,  like  its  Divine  Author,  is  "  the  same 
yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever  ;"  unalterable  in  its  mean- 
ing, in  its  adaptation,  in  its  authority.  The  Scriptures 
were  written  for  all  times,  and  all  countries,  and  are  alike 
obhgatory  upon  all.  We  are  as  much  bound  by  Paul's 
epistles  as  were  the  churches  to  which  they  were  origi- 
nally addressed.  There,  in  those  blessed  pages,  is  the 
description  of  our  religion,  both  in  its  privileges  and  its 
duties.  There  are  potent,  but  they  will  prove  abortive, 
efforts  to  substitute  something  else  for  all  this.  It  is  too 
spiritual,  too  devout,  too  unearthly,  too  self-denying,  too 
humbling,  for  many  ;  and  it  must  be  pushed  out  for 
man's  device  ;  and  this  is  done  in  two  ways,  and  by  two 
different  classes  of  teachers.  One  class  are  endeavoring 
to  set  aside  the  prescriptions  of  the  New  Testament,  by 
a  philosophized  Christianity,  which  retains  the  name,  but 
repudiates  everything  else  of  this  divine  system.  This 
is  intended  for  the  thoughtful  and  scientific,  who  cannot 
quite  do  without  some  reference  to  God  and  immortality, 
but  who  cannot  endure  anything  so  humbling  to  reason, 
and  so  mortifying  to  depravity,  as  the  New  Testament 
description  of  religion.  While,  on  the  other  hand,  there 
are  the  men  who  are  governed  by  their  senses  and  their 
imagination,  for  whom  all  this  which  has  been  set  forth 
is  too  spiritual,  and  intellectual,  and  moral ;  and  they, 
therefore,  must  have  a  ceremonial  and  ritual  piety.  They 
must  dwell  in  the  regions  of  poetry,  and  architecture, 
and  sculpture ;  and  be  regaled  by  sights  and  sounds 
which  shall  supply  them  wdth  the  luxuries  of  taste,  with- 
out any  very  large  demand  upon  the  understanding,  the 
will,  the  heart,  and  the  conscience.  Against  both  these 
the  Word  of  God  lifts  up  its  own  inspired,  unalterable, 
and  infallible  standard,  and  with  the  authority  of  a  Divine 
voice  says,  "  This  is  the  way,  walk  ye  in  it."  Yes  this, 
all  this,  which  we  find  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  New 
Testament  as  descriptive  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ, 


PERSONAL    RELIGION.  75 

IS  binding  upon  us.  Every  particular  enumerated  is 
binding  upon  every  individual  Christian.  There  can  be 
no  dividing  the  religion  of  the  Bible  ;  no  parcelling  it  out 
amidst  various  individuals  ;  no  giving  piety  to  one,  and 
morality  to  another ;  no  leaving  one  man  to  do  this,  to 
the  neglect  of  that,  and  allowing  another  man  to  do 
what  his  fellow-professor  has  neglected,  and  to  neglect 
what  he  has  done  ;  it  is  all  binding  upon  each.  The 
whole  moral  law,  and  the  whole  gospel  of  the  grace  of 
God,  come  down  with  undiminished  and  undivided  weight 
upon  each  man's  conscience. 

Now  it  is  not  enough  to  say,  "  Who  then  can  be 
saved?"  and  endeavor  to  get  rid  of  our  obligations  by 
affirming  that  such  a  life  as  this  is  impossible  to  any 
one  in  this  world.  This  has  been  often  said,  and  an 
infidel  objection  has  been  raised  against  the  gospel,  on 
the  ground  of  its  high  standard  of  duty.  It  has  been 
alleged  against  it,  that  its  requirements  are  beyond  the 
reach  of  any  one  situated  as  we  are,  with  a  corrupt  nature, 
and  surrounded  by  temptations.  There  would  be  some 
force  in  this,  if  nothing  were  accepted  short  of  absolute 
perfection.  Difficult,  indeed,  it  is,  so  much  so,  that  even 
"the  righteous  are  scarcely  saved."  But  is  it  more 
difficult  for  us  than  it  was  for  the  first  Christians? 
They  were  surrounded  by  idolatrous  friends,  customs, 
and  rites,  and  had  to  force  their  way  to  heaven  through 
bonds,  imprisonment,  and  death,  in  addition  to  all  that  is 
trying  to  us.  They  could  not  move  a  step  in  their  reli- 
gious course  without  encountering  an  antagonism  of 
which  we  can  form  no  conception.  Yet  even  to  them  no 
concession  was  made  ;  "  Deny  thyself,  and  take  up  thy 
cross  and  follow  me,"  was  the  stern,  unbending  demand 
of  Christ.  He  required  of  them,  and  he  requires  of  us, 
also,  the  double  crucifixion,  of  the  outer  and  the  inner 
man,  as  the  terms  of  discipleship. 

This,  I  admit,  is  somewhat  alarming  ;  it  is,  indeed, 
startling,  and  enough  to  awaken  all  Christendom  to  very 
serious  consideration,  to  be  told  that  this  is  the  religion 
they  must  have,  or  abandon  their  pretension  to  religion 


76  earnest:ness  in 

altogether.  Can  anything  more  clearly  prove  the  neces- 
sity of  earnestness  than  such  a  statement  as  this  1 

Thirdly.  We  may  now  proceed  to  ask,  whether  this 
is  the  religion  which  is  prevahnl  in  this  day,  and  among 
us  ?  This  is  a  question  which  we  approach  with  trem- 
bling solicitude,  anxious  not  to  give  a  wrong  answer, 
neither  on  the  one  hand  to  exaggerate,  nor,  on  the  other, 
to  underrate,  the  piety  of  this  age.  Recollect,  the  ques- 
tion is  not  whether  we  have  more  or  less  earnest  piety 
than  some  former  ages.  No  doubt  there  have  been  times 
when  there  was  a  more  intense  devotion  than  ours,  and 
other  times  when  there  was  less.  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that  the  number  of  true  Christians  is  greater  now 
than  it  has  been  in  any  modern  age,  and  as  little,  that  in 
some  directions,  this  number  is  still  greatly  augmenting. 
We  are  disposed,  therefore,  to  drop  this  inquiry,  and 
take  up  the  question  of  the  present  state  of  piety  as 
viewed  only  in  comparison  with  the  standard  laid  dow^n 
before.  Even  could  it  be  shown  that  we  were  somewhat 
more  in  earnest  than  others  that  have  gone  before  us, 
yet  how  far  short  are  w^e,  both  of  what  the  word  of  God 
requires,  and  of  what  is  necessary  for  our  high  duty  and 
destiny,  as  God's  witnessing  and  proselyting  church. 

We  would  not  lose  sight,  and  ought  not  to  do  so,  of 
certain  distinguishing  and  lofty  features  in  the  church's 
piety  of  this  day.  There  is,  no  doubt,  a  very  prevailing 
disposition  to  profess  Christ.  Religion  is  unquestionably 
gaining  ground  in  this  respect.  Whatever  disposition 
there  may  be  in  some  quarters,  that  is,  among  the  second- 
rate  men  of  science,  and  also  among  great  numbers  of 
the  operative  classes,  to  espouse  the  cause  of  infidelity, 
—  and  a  fearful  disposition  there  is  to  do  so, —  public  opin- 
ion is  in  other  quarters  conciliated  to  religion,  and  even 
to  evangehcal  religion.  But  we  are  not  now  so  much 
thinking  of  the  characteristics  of  the  age,  as  of  the 
church  :  and  of  this  latter,  we  find  a  noble  distinction  in 
Its  liberal,  yea,  munificent  activity.  Never,  no,  never, 
since  the  days  of  the  apostles,  was  there  such  a  per- 
vading spirit  of  religious  zeal  as  there  is  now  :  nor  would 
we  be  over  curious  and  severe  in  our  scrutiny  to  ascer- 


PERSONAL    RELIGION.  77 

lain  how  much  of  this  is  tainted  with  sectarianism  ;  that 
it  is  not  all  pure,  we  admit,  but  whatever  alloy  may  be 
mixed  with  it,  much  of  it  is  genuine  gold.  It  is  a  sight 
for  the  admiration  of  angels,  and  on  which  the  great  God 
himself  looks  down  with  ineffable  complacency,  to  see 
the  church  rising  up  from  the  slumber  of  ages,  multiply- 
ing her  instruments,  and  accumulating  her  means,  for  the 
world's  conversion.  See  her  efforts  at  home  for  tho 
building  of  churches,  the  training  of  ministers,  the  erec- 
tion of  schools,  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  and  the 
education  of  the  people  :  and  see  her,  at  the  same  time, 
on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  stretching  out  her  arms 
half  round  the  globe,  and,  by  her  missionaries  and  mis- 
sion stations,  giving  the  blessings  of  salvation  to  half  the 
teeming  population  of  our  earth.  We  would  not  be 
blind  to  this,  for  it  is  a  glorious  sight  to  see  our  mer- 
chants beginning  to  inscribe  upon  their  merchandise,  and 
upon  the  bells  of  the  horses,  "  Holiness  to  the  Lord  !'* 
Should  some  of  the  friends  of  Zion,  who  departed  to 
their  rest  a  century  ago,  look  out  of  their  graves  upon 
the  scenes  exhibited  in  the  metropolis  in  the  month  of 
May,  they  would  be  almost  ready  to  conclude  we  had 
reached  the  millennial  period  of  the  world's  history. 
Zeal  is  at  length  recognized  as  one  of  the  constitueut 
elements  of  piety,  and  that  professor  would  be  viewed  as 
a  relic  of  a  by-gone  age,  who  did  not  recognize  his  com- 
mission in  the  command  of  the  Saviour,  to  go  into  all 
the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature. 

This  is  delightful,  but  it  is  not  everything  :  there  may 
be,  as  we  have  seen,  a  name  to  live  while  we  are  dead. 
It  is  impossible  to  be  ignorant,  or  to  forget,  how  much 
of  all  the  money  given  may  be  bestowed  without  any 
real  love  to  the  object ;  and  how  much  of  all  the  labor 
thus  employed  may  be  carried  on  from  a  mere  love  of 
activity,  and  by  the  strong  current  of  public  example. 
It  is  only  necessary  to  look  to  the  church  of  Rome,  to 
learn  how  much  of  zeal  may  be  manifested,  and  how 
much  of  property  may  be  expended,  without  any  pure 
religious  motive.  And  even  taking  the  gross  amount  of 
wha*  is  given,  and  what  is  done,  without  making  anv 
7 


78  EARNESTNESS   IN      . 

deductions  for  the  counterfeit  coin  of  fulse  motives,  how 
little  does  it  amount  to,  compared  with  what  we  spend 
upon  ourselves,  and  with  what  the  cause  of  Christ  re- 
quires at  our  hands  ! 

Giving-,  then,  all  that  is  due  to  this  spirit  of  liberality 
and  activity,  let  us  come  back  to  the  question  about  the 
earnest  fiety  of  the  age.  Has  the  church  so  clothed 
herself  with  the  garments  of  salvation  and  the  robes  of 
righteousness,  and  does  she  so  shine  with  the  beauties 
of  holiness,  and  the  reflected  light  of  heaven  falling  upon 
her,  as  to  attract  the  notice,  to  fix  the  attention,  and 
excite  the  admiration  of  the  world  1  Is  she  all  bright- 
jaess,  a  Goshen  amidst  Egyptian  gloom,  a  verdant  oasis  in 
fthe  midst  of  this  moral  desert?  Has  she,  by  her  unearthly 
'.temper,  her  consistent  holiness,  her  heavenly-mindedness  ; 
by  her  exalted  morality,  by  her  exemplary  benevolence, 
hy  the  radiance  of  truth  sparkling  in  her  eye,  the  spirit 
-of  love  breathed  from  her  lips,  and  the  blessings  of  mercy 
dropping 'from  her  hands,  silenced  the  cavils  of  infidelity, 
and  answered  the  taunts  of  her  enemies,  "  What  do  ye 
more  than  others?"  Does  she  appear  like  the  taber- 
nade  of  God,  filled  with  his  glory  and  indicating  his 
presence'?  Have  Christians,  by  their  victory  over  the 
world,  itheir  constant  and  earnest  pursuit  of  salvation, 
their  copsisten't  piety,  their  general  excellence,  their  gen- 
tleness, meekness,  and  kindness,  lived  down  the  sus- 
picion, and  silenced  the  charge,  of  hypocrisy?  Do  we 
appear  wl^q.t  we  .profess  to  be,  as  men  living  supremely 
for  immortality,  aad  bearing  visibly  to  every  eye  the  stamp 
of  heaveji  and  eternity  upon  our  character?  Do  we  look 
like  the  competitors  for  a  crown  of  glory,  the  warriors 
Sighting  for  eternal  liberty  and  life  ?  Does  our  religion 
aj;pear  like  that  which  is  making  us  a  saint  in  life,  and 
wQiuld  make  us  a  martyr  in  death?  Can  we  pretend  to 
be  in  earnest,;if  these  questions  must  be  answered  in  the 
negative  ? 

ijf  asked  to  point,  out  -the  specific  and  prevailing  sin  of 
th^;ehurch  in  the  present. day,  we  cannot  hesitate  in  re- 
pljfiixg,  a  'pervading  worldliness  of  mind,  heart,  and  con- 
dust..   .She  is,feaTfully.seculai:i5^d  in  the  spirit  and  temper 


PERSONAL   RELIGION.  79 

of  her  membe.s.-  The  love  of  the  woiid  is  become  the 
master  passion,  before  which  other  and  hoHer  affections 
grow  dim  and  weak.  Nor  is  this  at  all  inconsistent  with 
the  spirit  of  liberahty,  which  has  been  already  admitted 
to  exist.  There  may,  by  the  force  of  circumstances,  be 
a  spirit  of  giving,  where  at  tjie  same  time  there  may  be 
an  excessive  anxiety  about  getting.  In  this  commercial 
country,  it  is  difficult  even  for  the  professors  of  religion 
to  escape  the  contagious  spirit  of  speculation,  eager  com^ 
petition,  and  over-trading.  The  determination,  as  well 
IS  the  anxiety,  to  be  rich,  will,  without  great  watchfiil- 
less,  rush  into  the  church  :  it  has  done  so,  and  those  who 
)rofess  to  have  overcome  the  world  by  faith,  appear 
;.lmost  as  eager  as  others  in  all  the  schemes  for  getting 
wealth  in  haste,  and  by  almost  any  means.  But  it  is  not 
only  in  the  way  of  doing  business  that  this  secular  spirit 
is  seen,  but  in  the  general  habits  and  tastes  of  professing 
Christians.  Their  style  of  living,  their  entertainments, 
their  associations,  their  amusements,  their  conversation, 
evince  a  conformity  to  the  world,  a  minding  of  earthly 
things,  a  disposition  to  conform  themselves  to  the  world 
around,  and  an  apparent  desire  to  seek  their  happiness 
from  objects  of  sense,  rather  than  from  those  of  faith, 
which  prove  the  extent  to  which  a  secular  spirit  is  bear- 
ing down  the  spirit  of  piety. 

It  may  not  be  improper  here  to  ask  what  are  the  prin- 
cipal defects,  as  well  as  sins,  of  the  religion  of  this  day  ; 
in  what  it  is  that  the  professors  of  this  age  chiefly  fall 
short?  Two  only  shall  be  mentioned,  as  perhaps  the 
most  prominent.  I  may  first  mention  that  class  of  duties 
which  come  under  the  head  of  the  devotional,  the  spirit- 
ual, the  contemplative,  as  distinguished  from  the  active 
and  practical,  or  that  which  is  specifically  known  as  piety 
towards  God  :  the  love  of,  and  communion  with,  God  ; 
looking  to  Jesus,  and  the  habitual  sense  of  his  unutter- 
able preciousness  ;  the  commerce  with  the  skies  ;  the 
abiding  unpression  of  eternity  ;  the  impressive  sense  of 
the  Divine  presence  ;  the  constant  reference  to  the  future 
Btate,  which,  like  an  invisible  but  powerful  linkj  connects 
us  with  another  world.     This  is  what  we  want,  the  higli- 


so  E.   RNESTNESS    IN 

toned  spirituality,  the  ueeply  devotional  spirit,  the  heav- 
enly aspirations,  the  yearnings  after  a  higher  and  holier 
state  of  existence,  which  are  exhibited  in  many  of  the 
hymns  we  sing,  many  of  the  biographies  we  read,  and 
many  of  the  sermons  we  hear.  We  have  a  faith  which 
converses  with  the  letter,  b^t  we  want  one  which  presses 
on  to  the  spirit,  of  the  word  of  God  :  our  faith  stops  in 
words,  but  does  not  reach  on  to  things  ;  the  awfully  glo- 
rious form  of  truth  passes  before  our  intellect,  but  it  is 
veiled  and  muffled  ;  we  do  not  take  hold  of  her  garment, 
entreat  her  to  smile  upon  us,  and  tarry  with  us,  admit- 
ting our  hearts  to'  communion  with  h^r. 

It  has  sometimes  occurred  to  me  that  we  have  suffered 
our  very  orthodoxy,  in  one  respect,  to  do  us  harm,  as  if 
the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith,  that  fundamental 
truth,  and  the  only  legitimate  source  of  peace  to  a  sin- 
ner's conscience,  were  intended  to  chill  our  affections,  and 
extinguish  the  exercise  of  a ,  holy  and  chastened  imagi- 
nation in  the  soul  of  a  saint.  In  setting  aside  frames 
and  feelings  as  grounds  of  hope  and  sources  of  peace, 
we  have  been  in  danger  of  extinguishing  them  altogether 
as  exercises  of  devotion.  In  doing  honor  to  the  work  of 
Christ,  as  the  sole  ground  of  acceptance  with  God,  we 
have  neglected  the  work  of  the  Spirit  to  raise  us  unto 
the  element  of  light  and  love.  In  turning  with  aversion 
from  the  crucifix  as  an  aid  to  devotion,  we  have  neglected 
to  use  the  cross  to  produce  in  us  all  the  legitimate  emo- 
tions of  earnest  contemplation.  In  refusing  to  enter  the 
cloister,  we  have  neglected  also  the  closet.  In  repudi- 
ating the  visions,  the  raptures,  and  the  dreamy  silence  of 
the  mystics,  we  have  also  let  go  the  peace  that  passetb 
understanding,  the  joy  that  is  unspeakable  and  full  ot 
glory.  In  surrendering  such  books  as  Madame  Guion'i 
rapturous  hymns,  Mrs.  Rowe's  Devout  Exercises  of  tht 
Heart,  Hervey's  Meditations,  and  Law's  Serious  Call, 
we  have  at  the  same  time  renounced  almost  all  other 
works,  which,  though  of  a  more  sober  spirit  of  devotion, 
are  intended  and  calculated  to  excite  and  sustain  religious 
affection.  We  have  repudiated  manuals  of  devotion, 
which  prescribe  employments  for  passion-week,  a  whole 


PERSONAL    RELIGION.  81 

week's  preparation  for  the  Lord's  supper,  prayers  to  be 
repeated  in  dressing  and  undressing,  and  all  the  various 
situations  in  which  we  can  be  found,  as  tending  to  make 
religion  a  thing  of  and  by  itself,  as  belonging  to  times 
and  places,  but  not  constituting  an  element  of  habitual 
character,  and  a  principle  designed  to  influence  us  always, 
everywhere,  and  in  everything  :  but  have  we  not  too 
much  abandoned  all  aids  to  devotion,  all  means  and  helps 
to  keep  up  the  piety  of  the  heart  towards  God.  Missals, 
breviaries,  and  rosaries,  are  abjured  by  us  as  the  inven- 
tions of  man,  the  devices  of  superstition,  the  mockeries  of 
devotion  ;  but  do  we  substitute  them  by  our  Bibles,  our 
hymn-books,  our  religious  biographies,  as  closet  com- 
panions, as  fuel  for  the  flame  of  devotion?  We  doubt 
the  genuineness  of  that  emotion  which  can  be  excited  only 
by  Gothic  architecture,  beautiful  sculpture,  sublime  music, 
and  mouldering  ruins  of  religious  fabrics  ;  but  do  we 
take  pains  to  nourish  devotion  by  the  appeals  made  to 
our  senses,  in  the  scenes  of  nature,  and  the  legitimate 
symbols  of  our  holy  religion  1  In  short,  we  have  abjured 
Popery,  and  its  late-born  child,  Puseyism,  but  we  still 
want  the  devotion  of  some  of  the  best  of  their  votaries, 
puriiied  from  its  superstition,  illuminated  and  guided  by 
the  clear  light  of  the  evangelical  system  of  revealed 
truth, —  the  piety  of  Fenelon  and  Pascal,  as  a  graft  upon 
the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith,  or  rather  yielded  by 
it  as  its  legitimate  produce.  Such  instances  there  arc 
among  us,  not  a  few  ;  w^ould  God  they  were  more  nu- 
merous ! 

But,  "this  kind  goeth  not  forth  but  by  fasting  and! 
prayer,"  and  in  the  former  of  these,  if  not  in  the  latter,, 
the  Christians  of  the  present  day  are  singularly  wanting.. 
We  live  in  a  busy  age,  when  men  find  little  time  for 
private  prayer,  reading  the  Scriptures,  and  meditation. 
Perhaps  there  was  never  so  little  private  prayer  among 
professors  as  there  is  now.  The  closet  was  never  mor& 
neglected  by  the  great  bulk  of  those  who  call  themselves. 
Christians.  A  few  hasty  expressions  or  a  few  broken, 
thoughts,  poun  d  out  without  solemnity  or  without  cohe- 
rence, or  else  a  short  form  learnt  by  heart,  and  repeated 
7* 


82  EARNESTNESS    IN 

ai  night  or  morning,  or  perhaps  bo  ,h,  constitntes,  it  is  tc 
be  feared,  as  we  have  already  said,  all  the  private  prayer 
which  some  offer  to  God.  Closet  prayer  means  a  person's 
selecting  some  suitable  time  and  place  to  be  alone  with 
God,  to  pom-  out  into  his  ear,  with  freedom  and  enlarge- 
ment, all  the  cares,  the  sorrows,  the  desires,  and  the  sins 
of  a  burdened  heart,  and  a  troubled  conscience  :  it  means 
more,  for  it  signifies  the  act  of  a  child  going  to  commune 
in  the  spirit  of  adoption  with  his  Divine  Parent,  and  to 
give  utterance  to  the  expressions  of  his  adoring  grati- 
tude, praise,  and  love,  and  to  present  his  intercessions 
for  all  that  claim  an  interest  in  his  supplications.  It  is 
but  too  obvious  that  there  is  comparatively  little  of  such 
closet  exercises  in  this  day  of  engrossing  worldliness. 
Christians  live  too  much  in  public  to  be  much  in  their 
closets.  Answer,  ye  who  read  these  pages,  is  it  not  sol 
What  say  your  closets  and  consciences?  What  testi- 
mony is  borne  for  you  ?  Say,  professors,  say,  if  you  are 
not  restraining  prayer,  and  framing  all  kinds  of  excuses 
for  the  neglect  1  What  spirituality,  what  heavenly-mind- 
edness,  can  you  expect  in  the  habitual  neglect  of  the 
closet? 

But  this  is  not  the  only  deficiency  of  the  church  in  the 
present  day,  for  the  want  of  a  prevailing  conscientiousness 
.is  as  conspicuous  as  that  on  which  we  have  just  dwelt. 
.Earnestness  in  religion  is  as  much  displayed  in  a  sincere 
:and  anxious  desire  in  all  things  to  do  what  is  right,  as  it 
;is  in  praying,  and  cultivating  the  spirit  of  devotion.  And 
rthis  is,  perhaps,  much  easier  to  be  manifested  than  the 
■  other.  There  are  great  numbers  of  God's  people,  who 
are  so  situated  that  they  cannot  command  much  time  for 
^devotional  exercises  :  their  hours  are  not  their  own  ;  but 
every  one  can  be  conscientious  in  his  conduct.  It  re- 
quires no  more  time,  though,  in  some  cases,  much  more 
resolution,  to  do  right,  than  to  do  wrong.  In  a  trading 
country,  like  ours,  where  competition  is  so  keen,  and 
success  so  precarious,  the  temptations  to  a  violation  of 
the  "  whatsoever  things  are  just,  hones  ,  true,  and  love- 
ly," will  be  very  numerous,  very  strong,  and  constantly 
recurring.     Trade  affords  constant  tests  of  principle.     It 


PERSONAL    RELIGION.  83 

supplies  the  standard  of  honor  with  men  of  business. 
But  dishonorable  transactions  are  no  uncommon  occur- 
rences among  professors  of  the  present  day.  More 
scandals  are  brought  upon  the  cause  of  Christ  from  this 
source,  than  from  any  other  that  could  be  na:.ned.  A 
want  of  strict  and  eminent  integrity  is  so  common,  that 
the  manifestation  of  it,  in  an}''  high  degree,  excites 
admiration,  and  insures  for  its  possessor  unusual  testimo- 
nies of  commendation. 

It  is  not  meant  by  this  to  avow,  or  insinuate,  that 
almost  all  professors  are  dishonest  men,  but  merely  that 
in  little  affairs  of  a  pecuniary  nature,  and  other  matters, 
violations  of  the  honorable  and  generous  are  so  common, 
as  to  excite  less  surprise  and  censure  than  they  should 
do,  in  one  who  professes  to  be  in  earnest  for  the  kingdom 
of  God.  What  Paley  said  in  reference  to  subscription 
to  articles  of  faith,  "  that  he  could  not  afford  to  keep  a 
conscience,"  is  said  by  multitudes  besides,  or  if  not  said, 
is  acted  upon.  A  man,  who  in  all  his  actions,  his  words, 
and  feehngs ;  in  all  his  conduct  which  is  seen  only  by 
God,  as  well  as  in  that  which  comes  under  the  cognizance 
of  men ;  when  it  exposes  him  to  inconvenience  and  loss, 
as  well  as  when  it  puts  him  to  no  cost,  and  calls  for  no 
shame,  makes  an  enlightened  and  tender  conscience  his 
guide,  and  which  he  implicitly  obeys,  is  a  character  too 
rare  even  among  professors  of  religion.  To  adopt  as  the 
rule  of  conduct,  "  I  will  in  all  things  do  that  which  my 
Bible  and  my  conscience  tell  me  is  right  ;"  and  to  carry 
this  rule  into  all  the  great  branches  and  minute  ramifi- 
cations of  Christian  duty  ;  to  adopt  it  in  reference  to  our 
temper  and  spirit,  our  thoughts  and  feelings,  as  well  as 
our  words  and  actions ;  to  make  it  govern  us  in  all  our 
social  relations,  and  all  our  business  transactions  ;  and,  in 
conformity  to  this  rule,  to  make  any  sacrifice,  to  practise 
any  self-denial,  and  to  endure  any  loss,  is  a  line  of  con- 
duct, which,  though  imperatively  demanded  by  religion, 
is  but  too  seldom  seen,  but  wherever  it  is  seen  can  never 
fail  to  be  admired. 

It  appears  quite  clear,  then,  that  great  numbers  of 
Christian  professors  are  but  very  imperfectly  acquainted 


84  EARNESTNESS    IN 

with  the  reqairements  of  "  pure  and  undefiled  religion," 
and  need  to  be  led  to  re-study  it  in  the  pages  of  Holv 
Scripture.  We  have  lost  sight  of  the  Divine  Original, 
and  have  confined  our  attention  to  the  imperfect  tran- 
scripts which  we  find  on  every  hand.  We  have  by  tacit 
consent  lowered  the  standard,  and  fixed  our  eye  and  our 
aim  upon  this  depreciated  rule.  We  are  a  law  to  each 
other,  instead  of  making  the  Word  of  God  the  Jaw  to  us 
all.  We  tolerate  a  worldly-minded,  and  diluted,  and 
weakened  piety  in  others,  because  we  expect  a  similar 
toleration  for  ourselves.  We  make  excuses  for  them, 
because  we  expect  the  like  excuses  for  our  own  conduct  in 
return.  Instead  of  "  seeking  to  cleanse  ourselves  from 
all  filthiness  of  the  flesh  and  spirit,  and  perfecting  holi- 
ness in  the  fear  of  God,"  we  have  abused,  shamefully 
abused,  the  fact  that  there  is  no  perfection  upon  earth, 
and  converted  it  into  a  license  for  any  measure  and  any 
number  of  imperfections.  We  have  set  our  highest 
mark  upon  an  abstinence  from  immorality  and  the  more 
polluting  worldly  amusements ;  an  attendance  upon  an 
evangelical  ministry ;  and  an  approval  of  orthodox  doc- 
trine ;  this,  with  the  act  of  joining  a  Christian  church, 
a  participation  in  the  Lord's  supper,  and  a  little  occa- 
sional emotion  under  a  sermon,  and  a  hasty  prayer  night 
and  morning,  this,  this  is  the  religion  of  multitudes. 
There  may  be  no  habitual  spirituality  or  heavenly-mind- 
edness ;  no  life  of  faith  and  communion  with  God ;  no 
struggling  against  sin,  Satan  and  the  world;  no  anxiety 
to  grow"  in  grace  ;  no  supreme  regard  to  eternity ;  no 
studied  and  advancing  meetness  for  the  eternal  world  ; 
no  tenderness  of  conscience  ;  no  laborious  disciplining 
of  the  temper  ;  no  cultivating  of  love  ;  no  making  reli- 
gion our  chief  business  and  our  highest  pleasure  ;  no 
separation  in  spirit  from  the  world  —  in  short,  no  impress 
upon  the  whole  mind,  and  heart,  and  conscience,  and  hfe, 
of  the  (character  of  the  Christian  as  delineated  upon  the 
page  of  Scripture.  We  need  to  be  all  taken  out  of  the 
religious  world,  as  it  is  called,  and  collected  again  round 
the  Bible,  to  study  wha*;  it  is  to  he  a  Christian,  as  well  as 
to  be  called  one.     Let  as  do  tliis  very  thing.     Let  us 


PERSON-/* L   RELIGION,  85 

endeavor  to  forget  what  the  bulk  of  professors  are,  and 
begin  afresh  to  learn  what  they  ought  to  be.  Let  us 
select  the  most  eminently  holy,  devout,  and  conscientious 
Christians  we  can  find  ;  and  if  we  know  not  many  living 
ones  which  stand  high  above  the  rest,  let  us  go  to  the 
memoirs  of  departed  ones,  and  say  to  ourselves,  "  Even 
these,  distinguished  as  they  are,  do  not  come  up  to  the 
standard  ol  God's  law;  and  admitting  this,  as  they  did, 
if  they  bewailed  their  deficiences  and  their  imperfections, 
then  what  am  I?"  It  is  to  be  feared  that  we  are  cor- 
rupting each  other,  leading  each  other  to  be  satisfied  with 
a  conventional  piety.  Many  have  been  actually  the  worse 
for  church  membership.  They  were  more  intensely 
anxious  and  earnest  before  they  came  into  fellowship, 
than  they  were  afterwards.  Their  rehgion,  in  joining 
the  communion  of  saints,  as  they  professed  to  be,  seemed 
to  come  into  an  ice-house,  instead  of  a  hot-house.  They 
grew  better  in  their  former  state  than  in  their  new  one. 
At  first  they  were  surprised  and  shocked  to  see  the  luke- 
warmness,  the  irregularities,  the  worldliness,  the  incon- 
Bistencies,  of  many  older  professors,  and  exclaimed  with 
grief  and  disappointment,  "  Is  this  the  church  of  Christ?" 
After  a  while,  a  fatal  influence  came  over  them,  and  their 
piety  sank  to  the  temperature  around  them. 

Let  us,  then,  cast  away  the  fatal  opiate  which  so  often 
quiets  a  troubled  conscience,  "  I  am  as  good  as  my  neigh- 
bors," and  go  with  prayer,  trembling  and  anxiety  to  the 
Scriptures  with  the  question,  "  What  is  it  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian?" None  but  an  earnest  religion  can  be  a  sincere 
one  ;  none  but  an  earnest  religion  will  take  us  to  heaven  ; 
none  but  an  earnest  religion  can  be  a  happy  one.  Rouse, 
Christian  professors,  from  your  slumbers  and  your 
dreams.  Multitudes  of  you  are  perishing  in  your  sins ; 
you  are  going  down  to  the  pit  with  a  lie  in  your  right 
hand.  Your  profession  alone  will  not  save  you,  and  it  is 
all  that  some  of  you  have  to  depend  upon.  There  are 
millions  of  professors  of  religion  in  the  bottomless  pit, 
who  brought  no  scandal  upon  rehgion  while  they  lived, 
by  immorality ;  but  the  life  of  God  was  not  in  theii 


86  EARNESTNESS    IN    PERSONAL    RELIGION. 

fiouls ;  they  had  a  name  to  live,  but  were  dead.  They 
looked  around  upon  the  low  conventionalism  of  the  day 
in  which  they  lived,  instead  of  studying  the  Bible  for 
their  standard  of  piety,  and  went  to  the  bar  of  God, 
saying,  "  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not  been  called  by  thy 
name?"  where  they  met  with  the  dreadful  rebuff,  and 
rejection,  "  I  never  knew  you  ;  depart  from  me." 


CHAPIER    IV. 

EARNESTNESS     IN     THE    WAY    OF    INDIVIDUAL     EXERTION, 
AND    DIRECT  ACTION    FOR    THE    SAL^'ATION    OF  SOULS. 

Patriotism  is  a  part  of  religion,  and  he  who  is  a 
true  lover  of  God  will  be  a  genuine  lover  of  his  country 
also.  It  is  true  the  Bible  knows  nothing  of  national 
antipathies,  but  on  the  contrary  condemns  the  absurd  and 
wicked  prejudice  which  leads  the  people  of  one  land  to 
hate  those  of  another,  because  they  are  under  another 
government,  talk  another  language,  and  are  separated 
from  them  by  a  sea,  a  river,  or  a  land-mark.  Still  there 
are  grounds  of  affection,  and  motives  for  benevolent 
action,  relating  to  our  own  country,  which  do  not  apper- 
tain to  any  other.  One  of  these  is  contiguity.  We  are 
bound  to  do  good  to  all  men  as  opportunity  shall  present 
itself,  and  especially  to  those  in  our  own  vicinity.  The 
people  who  are  starving  at  the  antipodes  ought  to  receive 
our  bounty  as  soon  and  as  far  as  we  can  send  it  to  them, 
but  the  man  who  has  just  dropped  down  in  utter 
exhaustion,  and  is  dying  at  our  door,  has  especial  claim 
upon  us.  We  must  care  for  the  perisliing  heathen  — 
but  shall  we  forget  the  perishing  Englishman  1  To  the 
former  we  can  send  missionaries,  to  the  latter  we  can  go 
ourselves.  This,  then,  is  the  subjec^  of  the  present 
chapter,  the  obligation  of  individual  earnestness  in  the 
way  of  direct  action  for  the  conversion  of  souls.  This 
must  of  course  respect  our  countrymen,  our  neighbors, 
our  families,  our  friends.  Is  such  individual  action 
necessary  1 

Look  at  the  moral  aspect  of  your  country.  It  is  now 
more  than  three  centuries  since  the  Reformation  from 
Popery  ;  almost  two  since  the  era  of  toleration  ;  more 
than  one  since  the  revival  of  religion  by  the  labors  of 


8S  EARNESTNESS     IN 

Whitfield  and  Wesley ;  nearly  seventy  years  since  the 
setting  up  of  Sunday-schools  by  Robert  Raikes  ;  fifty 
since  the  spread  of  evangelical  religion  in  the  Church  of 
England  ;  forty-three  since  the  establishment  of  the 
Bible  Society,  and  a  little  more  than  that  since  the  form- 
ation of  the  Religious  Tract  Society,  and  somewhat 
less  since  the  invention  and  promulgation  of  the  popular 
systems  of  education  by  Bell  and  Lancaster  :  to  say 
nothing  of  the  various  institutions,  such  as  Home  Mis- 
sionary Societies,  Town  Missions,  District  Visiting  Socie- 
ties, and  other  organizations,  which  have  since  then  been 
set  up  for  improving  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  people. 
The  Bible  Society  has  issued  twenty  million  copies  of 
the  Scriptures.  The  Tract  Society  has  sent  out  nearly 
five  hundred  million  copies  of  books  and  tracts :  other 
institutions  have  added  millions  more  of  Bibles,  tracts, 
and  prayer-books.  Churches,  chapels,  and  schools,  have 
been  multiplied  beyond  all  precedent  in  former  times. 
And  yet  what  is  the  moral  condition  of  the  people  of 
England,  of  Protestant  England,  at  this  moment?  The 
town  in  which  I  live  contains,  with  its  suburbs,  about  two 
hundred  and  ten  thousand  inhabitants,  and  of  these  per- 
haps not  more  than  forty  thousands,  above  twelve  years 
of  age,  are  ever  at  public  worship  at  the  same  time. 
Take  from  these  all  Roman  Catholics,  Unitarians,  and 
other  denominations  who  do  not  hold  evangelical  senti- 
ments, and  what  a  small  portion  remains  out  of  the  whole 
population  who  are  enjoying  those  soul-converting  means 
of  grace  which  stand  so  intimately  connected  with  eternal 
salvation.  Where  are  the  bulk  of  the  remainder,  and  what 
is  their  state  and  character  as  regards  eternity  ?  This  is 
but  a  specimen  of  other  large  towns,  and  of  the  state  of 
the  metropolis.  What,  then,  it  may  be  asked,  must  be  the 
spiritual  condition  of  this  land  of  Bibles,  of  sanctuaries, 
of  ministers  ;  this  valley  of  vision,  this  land  of  light  ? 

If,  however,  it  were  merely  the  paucity  of  means  of 
doing  good  we  had  to  complain  of,  it  would  be  a  matter 
of  less  grief  and  horror ;  but  let  any  one  think  also  of 
the  agencies,  instruments,  and  means  of  doing  evil,  which 
are  in  active  operation.     The  moral,  or  rather  demoi>- 


INDIVIDUAL  EXERTION.  S9 

alized,  condition  of  a  large  proportion  of  the  people  of 
this  country  is  beyond  the  conception  of  those  who  have 
not  been  inquisitive  into  the  subject.  All  persons  .-enow 
the  prevalence  of  drunkenness  and  sensuality,  and  most 
are  impressed  vaguely  wuth  the  idea  that  there  is  a  great 
deal  of  infidelity  at  vi^ork  ;  but  the  depths  of  iniquity,  the 
stagnant,  pestiferous  sinks  of  vice  which  are  ever  send- 
ing forth  their  destructive  miasmata  into  the  moral  atmos- 
phere, and  poisoning  the  souls  of  the  people  of  these 
realn  «i,  are  neither  known  nor  conjectured  by  those  who 
are  ignorant  of  the  statistics  of  the  kingdom  of  darkness. 

A  writer  to  whom  the  religious  public  are  much  in- 
debted, has  lately  published  a  work,  entitled  "  The 
Power  of  the  Press,"  in  which  he  has  sent  forth  a  state- 
ment, derived  from  authentic  sources,  and  sustained  by 
unquestionable  evidence,  which  is  enough,  if  anything 
can  do  it,  to  circulate  a  thrill  of  horror  through  the  whole 
nation,  and  to  rouse  into  activity  every  friend  of  his  Bi- 
ble, his  country,  and  his  God. 

This  indefatigable  investigator  informs  us  that  11,702,- 
000  copies  of  absolutely  vicious  and  Sabbath-breaking 
newspapers  are  annually  circulated  in  these  realms ; 
while  the  issues  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Soci- 
ety, the  Trinitarian  Bible  Society,  the  Coldstream  Free 
Press  Bible  Society,  and  the  grants  of  the  Religious 
Tract  Society,  did  not  amount  last  year  to  one-third  of 
tliis  immense  number  I 

"  But  a  more  fearful  revelation  still  remains.  There 
are  about  setenty  cheap  periodicals  (varying  in  price 
from  three  half-pence  to  one  half-penny)  issued  weekly  ; 
and  supposing  an  extensively  cu'culated  series  of  popular 
works  issued  from  Edinburgh,  the  tendency  of  which  is 
believed  by  many  to  be  injurious,  are  omitted,  there  re- 
main at  least  sixty  of  a  positively  pernicious  tendency. 
Of  these  the  most  innocent  is  one  which  has  perhaps  the 
largest  circulation.  It  is  said  to  issue  100,000  weekly. 
But  though  vicious  principles  are  avowedly  repudiated, 
yet  a  depraved  and  disordered  imagination  is  fostered  in 
this  journal,  by  the  introduction  into  its  pages  of  French 
novels,  and  similar  trash,  as  a  principal  feature.  Then 
8 


90  EARNESTNESS    IN 

comes  a  less  scrupulous  paper,  with  a  weekly  issue  of 
about  80,000  ;  followed  by  six  papers,  all  a  degree  lower 
in  the  scale  of  corruption,  with  an  average  weekly  circu- 
lation of  20,000  each,  or  yearly  sale  for  the  six,  of 
6,240,000.  And  lastly  comes  a  catalogue  of  intolerably 
polluting  trash,  which,  closely  examined,  will  make  the 
Christian  shudder  at  its  contemplation  ;  wondeiJ«g  where 
readers  can  be  found,  and  amazed  at  the  neglect  and  in- 
difference of  the  church  of  Christ.  The  works  thus 
alluded  to  may  be  classified  thus  :  1st,  infidel ;  2nd,  pol- 
luting. Of  these  two  there  are  circulated  a  yearly  aver- 
age of  10,400,000. 

"  But  even  beyond  this  dreadful  limit,  there  is  a  very 
large  annual  circulation,  into  which  the  wnriter  dare  not 
enter,  so  awfully  polluting  is  the  character.  In  the  last 
mentioned  class,  engravings  and  coldrings  are  employed 
to  excite  the  lowest  passions.  It  is  true,  these  last  works 
are  supposed  to  be  sold  by  stealth,  but  they  are  easily 
procurable  from  the  same  sources  as  the  papers  and 
periodicals  before  mentioned.  The  vendors  of  the  one " 
generally  procure  the  other;  moreover,  the  unstamped 
journals  previously  alluded  to  usually  contain  advertise- 
ments of  these  works ;  and  as  the  sale  of  these  journals 
is  large,  they  obtain  a  wide  circulation  for  the  filth,  which, 
bad  as  they  are  themselves,  they  would  profess  to  abom- 
inate. 

"  Now,  if  we  sum  up  the  entire  yearly  circulation  of 
the  different  kinds  of  popular,  but  manifestly  pernicious 
literature,  which  has  been  passed  in  review  before  the 
reader,  it  will  stand  thus, 

10  stamped  papers 11,702,000 

6  unstamped  papers 6,240,000 

About  60  miscellaneous  papers       .     .  10,400,000 

Worst  class 520,000 

Being  a  total  of    28,862,000 

''  The  effect  of  this  immense  annual  issue,  which  if  at 
iJl  mis-stated,  the  writer  behoves  to  be  considerably  below 


rNDIVIDUAL  EXERTION.  91 

the  average,  can  scarcely  be  contemplated  by  the  Chris- 
tian for  one  moment  without  producing',  we  repeat,  a  thrill 
of  horror  !  Week  after  week  —  week  after  week  —  year 
after  year  —  year  after  year,  does  this  literature  meet  the 
mind  which  may  have  been  for  a  few  weeks  or  months, 
perhaps,  under  Christian  control  one  day  in  seven  ;  or  A 
arrests  the  attention  of  those  who  have  never  been  so 
privileged.  The  process  and  effect  are  alike  in  both 
cases,  though  in  one  results  may  be  more  gradual.  The 
mental  appetite  exists  and  must  be  fed  ;  it  meets  with 
the  food  which  we  have  just  analyzed,  at  every  turn,  in 
ever)''  variety,  to  suit  every  taste." 

What  has  been  done  (by  the  press)  to  meet  this  evil  ? 
Putting  together  the  annual  issues  of  Bibles,  Testaments, 
Religious  Tracts,  Newspapers,  and  Periodicals  of  every 
kind,  we  find  a  total  of  24,418,620,  leaving  a  balance 
of  4,443,380  in  favor  of  pernicious  and  corrupting  litera- 
ture.* 

Let  it,  then,  be  imagined,  if  imagined  it  can  be,  what 
must  be  the  moral  state  of  multitudes  in  this  country, 
when  nearly  thirty  millions  of  such  pestiferous  publica- 
tions are  annually  going  out  among  the  masses  of  our 
population.  Let  the  minds  of  all  Christian  people  be 
fixed  upon  these  facts.  Let  them  dwell  upon  the  insult 
oflfered  to  God,  the  ruin  brought  upon  souls,  the  injury 
done  to  morals,  and  the  mischief  perpetrated  in  the 
nation,  by  such  a  state  of  things.  Friends  of  Christ, 
lovers  of  your  species,  professors  of  religion,  you  must 

*  As  a  supplement  to  this  appalling  statement,  I  may  slate  that 
a  few  weeks  since  I  received  a  copy  of  a  number  of  one  of  these 
low,  cheap,  infidel  publications,  containing  strictures  on  "The 
Anxious  Inquirer. "  The  writer  of  these  strictures  avowed  him- 
self an  atheist,  and  indeed  he  has  done  ample  justice  to  his 
profession,  by  effusiors  of  the  most  vulgar,  blasphemous,  and 
horrid  atheism  I  ever  read.  But  what  was  most  alarming  is, 
this  wretched  messenger  of  mischief  announced  on  its  cover 
twelve  places  in  London,  where  infidel  meetings  are  held,  and 
gave  a  list  of  subjects  to  be  discussed,  all  intended  to  bring  the 
Christian  religion  into  contempt  and  derision.  This  number 
of  the  publication  alluded  to  was  ostentatiously  exhibited  in  the 
window  of  a  she p  in  this  town  where  this  and  similar  Vorks 
are  sold. 


92  EARNESTNESS    IN 

pause  and  ponder  these  statements.  You  must  not  read 
and  dismiss  them,  «as  you  would  the  statistics  of  pulitical 
economy.  The  writer  of  these  facts  has  led  you  to  the 
very  door  of  Satan's  workshop,  and  has  thrown  open  to 
you  the  scenes  of  that  awful  laboratory  of  mental  and 
moral  poison.  He  has  shown  you  authors,  compositors, 
printers,  engravers,  publishers,  booksellers,  vendors,  by 
myriads,  all  busy  and  indefatigable,  to  do  —  what?  To 
destroy  the  Bible  —  to  pull  down  the  cross  —  to  dethrone 
God  —  to  subvert  religion  —  to  uproot  the  church  —  to 
turn  man  into  a  thinking  and  speaking  brute,  and,  as  a 
necessary  consequence,  to  overturn  all  morality,  to  poison 
the  springs  of  dortiestic  happiness,  to  dissolve  the  ties  of 
social  order,  and  to  involve  our  country  in  ruin.  Is  this 
so,  or  is  it  not?  If  it  be,  you  are  summoned  to  ponder 
this  awful  state  of  things,  and  to  ask  what  can  be  done 
to  arrest  this  tide  of  ruin,  this  awful  cataract  of  perdition, 
which  is  dashing  over  the  precipice  of  infidelity  into  the 
gulf  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and  precipitating  millions  of 
immortal  souls  into  the  boiling  surges  and  tremendous 
whirlpools  below.  Hell  is  in  earnest  in  ruining  men's 
souls,  if  the  church  is  not  in  earnest  in  saving  them. 

But  what  is  to  be  done,  and  who  is  to  do  it  1  Much 
of  course  is  to  be  done  by  the  pulpit,  and  it  is  never  to 
be  forgotten  that  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  is  God's 
great  instnmient  for  the  conversion  of  souls.  Nothing 
can  ever  supersede  this.  Towering  above  all  other  means 
will  the  sacred  desk,  and  he  that  fills  it,  ever  stand,  as 
God's  chosen  means  for  reclaiming  the  wandering  and 
lost  soul  of  apostate  man  to  his  Saviour.  There  must  be 
np  suspicion  coming  over  the  preacher  or  the  hearer  of 
the  gospel,  that  the  pulpit  has  had  its  day,  done  its  work, 
and  must  give  place  to  something  else."  It  will  never 
have  had  its  day  till  the  world  has  had  its  day.  Preem- 
inently adapted  to  man  as  man,  through  every  period  of 
ids  history,  and  every  change  of  his  condition,  it  will 
remain  to  the  end  of  time,  the  great  means  for  the  sin- 
ner's conversion,  and  the  saint's  edification,  sanctification 
and  consolation.     And  the  iniidel  operations  we  have  just 


INDIVIDUAL   EXERTION.  93 

witnessed  lo  but  proclaim  with  trumpet-call  the  jtiore 
urgent  necessity  of  an  earnest  ministry. 

The  appalling  activity  in  corrupting  the  public  mind 
just  related,  must  be  met  also  by  rehgious  organizations, 
such  as  Home  Missionary  Societies,  and  Town  and  City 
Missions,  those  admirable  institutions  for  carrying  light 
into  the  regions  of  darkness,  and  purity  into  the  dens  of 
filth.  Churches  and  chapels,  however  numerous  and 
well  supplied  with  ministers  and  preachers,  will  not  en- 
tirely meet  the  case,  since  multitudes  who  most  need  the 
instructions  of  the  pulpit  never  come  to  receive  them. 
There  are  millions  to  whom,  if  they  ever  know  anything 
of  the  gospel,  it  must  be  carried.  Under  the  pressure  of 
want,  men  will  seek  the  food  of  their  bodies  with  an 
eagerness  proportioned  to  the  cravings  of  hunger  ;  but 
though  perishing  for  the  lack  of  the  bread  of  life,  they 
will  take  no  pains  to  obtain  it,  for  they  are  unconscious 
of  their  necessities.  What  is  wanted,  then,  is  the  plan  of 
domiciliary  visitation,  and  appeals  to  the  people  in  their 
own  localities,  carried  out  to  a  still  wider  extent,  and  by 
a  still  larger  and  more  perfect  organization.  Shall  we 
ever  have  well-educated  and  devoted  men,  versed  in  all  the 
popular  systems  of  infidelity,  fluent,  eloquent,  and  bold, 
who  will  go  upon  a  mission  to  the  masses,  and  be  able 
to  conciliate  them  by  kindness,  and  to  convince  them  by 
argument,  and  thus  to  win  them  to  Christ  and  to  his 
church  ?  Our  town  missionaries  and  scripture  readers  are 
doing  great  good,  but  we  still  want  a  class  of  agents 
above  them  in  mental  stature,  who  shall,  by  sound  logic, 
scriptural  knowledge,  and  commanding  intellect,  grapple 
with  the  demon  of  infidelity  in  its  own  domain. 

The  Press  also  must  be  worked  with  still  greater 
power  and  efliciency.  If  it  has  a  power  for  evil,  it  has 
also  a  power  for  good.  The  pulpit  cannot  do  everything 
—  some  think  it  cannot  do  most  in  this  educated  age  and 
nation  —  at  any  rate  it  is  not  jealous  of  the  press  as  a 
rival,  but  invites  its  assistance  as  an  auxiliary.  The  min- 
isters of  the  sanctuary  hail  as  coadjutors  the  priesthood  of 
letters.  The  press  must  not  be  left,  thank  God  is  not 
left,  in  the  hands  of  the  men  of  the  world,  and  the  mot- 
8* 


94  EAUNESTNESS    IN 

ley  crew  of  all  grades  of  scepticism.  "Are  they  its 
friends 'I  So  are  we.  Are  their  liberties  the  offspring  of 
its  efforts  1  So  are  ours.  Does  it  minister  to  their  idol- 
gods  ?  And  shall  it  not  minister  to  the  one  living  and 
true  God  ?  Let  us  therefore  consecrate  the  press  in  the 
midst  of  our  churches.  Let  sume  of  our  most  talented 
ministers  of  the  gospel,  who  are  adapted  to  the  work,  (and 
have  no  gift  of  elocution)  devote  themselves  entirely  to 
teaching  hy  the  press.  The  world  requires  their  ser- 
vices. Millions  of  minds  can  be  reached  only  by  means 
OF  the  press,"  The  Religious  Tract  Society  is  doing 
wonders,  and  will  do  greater  wonders  yet ;  let  it  be  well 
supported.  Our  journals  and  periodical  literature,  from 
the  bulky  quarterly  do\\Ti  to  the  penny  magazine  are  do- 
ing great  things.  Let  them  be  hberally  sustained.  If 
infidels  and  immoral  writers  are  pouring  forth  a  deluge  of 
scepticism  and  vice,  let  us  send  forth  a  higher  and  a  more 
mighty  flood,  to  sweep  away  by  its  force  the  turbid 
streams,  in  the  waters  of  which  nothing  lives,  and  which 
are  depositing  a  pernicious  and  pestiferous  slime,  instead 
of  a  fertile  soil.  Christians,  support  well  the  religious 
press  ;  remunerate  and  encourage  your  editors,  authors, 
and  societies,  by  pushing,  to  the  widest  possible  extent, 
their  publications.  Grudge  not  the  money  you  spend  in 
supporting  the  press  ;  very  little  is  better  spent. 

Still  this,  even  this,  all  this,  is  not  enough.  Give  to 
the  pulpit  all  the  power  that  is  claimed  for  it ;  give  to 
social  organization  all  the  efficiency  that  it  may  be  sup- 
posed and  made  by  God's  blessing  to  possess  ;  and  add  to 
this  the  well  directed  energy  of  the  press,  —  we  have  an 
evil  to  contend  with,  so  gigantic  in  its  strength,  so  diffused 
in  its  influence  on  all  sides  of  us,  and  so  infectious  and 
malignant  in  its  efforts,  that  nothing  short  of  tlie  engage- 
ment, the  energies,  and  the  earnestness,  of  the  whole  cJiurch 
can  cope  loith  it.  The  whole  church  must  be  employed  for 
the  conversion  of  the  whole  country.  The  levy  en  masse 
must  be  called  out.  The  enemy  is  coming  in  like  a  flood ; 
infidelity  and  immorality  are  invading  us  ;  the  tocsin  must 
be  rung  ;  the  beacon-fire  must  be  kindled  on '  every  hill 
of  Zion ;  the  sound  must  float  from  every  tower  and  esory 


INDIVIDUAL    EXERTION.  95 

battlement,  "  To  arms,  To  arms  !"  and  every  man  that 
can  shoulder  a  musket,  or  bear  a  pike,  must  take  the  ^eld, 
and  array  himself  against  the  foe.  There  is  not  a  single 
member  of  a  single  church,  male  or  female,  young  or  old, 
rich  or  poor,  but  what  ought  to  be  engaged  in  -personal 
efforts  for  tlie  salvation  of  souls.  An  army  may  as  ration- 
ally leave  the  battle  to  be  fought  by  the  officers  alone,  as 
the  church  may  leave  the  conversion  of  the  world  to  the 
ministers  of  the  gospel.  It  is  a  fundamental  error,  a 
practical  heresy  of  most  pernicious  and  deadly  influence, 
to  consider  the  conversion  of  souls  as  merely  ministerial 
work.  This  is  Popery  and  Puseyism,  which  would 
restrict  the  conveyance  of  renewing  grace  to  the  medium 
of  priestly  hands,  and  sacramental  channels.  Against 
this  the  whole  church  of  God  ought  to  rise  up  in  the  atti- 
tude of  firm  resistance,  and  with  the  language  of  indig- 
nant protestation,  as  an  invasion  of  the  rights  of  the 
Christian  people,  a  robbery  of  the  privileges  of  the 
"chosen  generation,"  and  a  deposition  of  the  "royal 
priesthood . "  As  an  honor,  —  and  it  is  one  of  the  brightest 
and  richest  that  can  light  upon  the  head  of  mortal  or  im- 
mortal, —  the  work  of  saving  souls  is  as  truly  and  as  legit- 
imately within  the  reach  of  the  pious  pauper  in  the 
work-house,  or  the  godly  child  in  the  Sunday  school,  or 
the  religious  maid-servant  in  a  family,  as  within  the  grasp 
of  the  mitred  prelate.  The  church,  the  whole  church, 
and  nothing  less  than  the  whole  church,  inclusive  of  mem- 
bers as  well  as  ministers,  is  the  priesthood  by  which  the 
work  of  conversion  is  to  be  carried  on  upon  earth.  The 
clergy-church,  that  is,  a  church  consisting  only  of  minis- 
isters  apart  from  the  people,  is  a  figment,  which  may  do 
well  enough  at  Rome,  or  at  Oxford,  but  it  will  not  do 
wherever  the  New  Testament  is  possessed,  read,  and 
understood.  This  divine,  heavenly  Magna  Charta  of  the 
Christian  church  must  be  held  up  to  wrest  from  the 
usurpation  of  tyrannizing  ecclesiastics  the  assumed  exclu- 
sive patent  for  saving  souls  ;  and  as  a  divine  right  of  the 
people,  must  be  bestowed  upon  any  one  who  has  grace 
enough  to  claim  it,  and  virtue  enough  to  exercise  it. 
Delightful  and  auspicious  it,  is  to  see  this  admitted  and 


96  EARNESTNESS    IN 

put  forward  by  authorities  which  will  hijve  weight  with 
those  who  will  not  be  swayed  by  the  same  statements 
coming  from  other  quarters. 

In  the  North  British  Review  for  November  last,  is  a 
critique  on  a  work  by  the  Chevalier  Bunsen,  Prussian 
ambassador  to  the  British  Court,  entitled  "  The  Church 
of  the  Future  ;'  which,  though  it  be  well  worthy  the  at- 
tention of  every  thoughtful  mind,  contains  many  strange 
views,  and  yet  many  deserving  of  approval ;  among  the 
latter  is  the  following  extract  selected  and  commented  upon 
in  the  Review  : 

"  But,  in  considering  the  assistance  rendered  to  the 
pastors  in  the  evangelical  instruction  and  education  of  the 
people,  we  have  met  with  a  mighty  institution,  the  only 
one  of  its  kind,  the  17,000  schoolmasters  who  stand  at 
the  side  of  the  parochial  clergy,  and  assist  them  in  the 
congregation.  That  which  is  good  and  evangelical  in  the 
system  of  the  clergy-church  is  still  to  be  found  in  it,  and 
new  and  vigorous  shoots  present  themselves  on  every 
side,  and  manifest  a  life  full  of  hope  for  the  future.  We 
found  the  most  startling  and  important  signs  of  this  in 
the  help  afforded  to  the  church  in  her  care  of  the  poor, 
the  sick,  and  the  prisoners.  We  were  met  by  a  zealous 
company  of  men  and  women,  who  had  founded  institu- 
tions of  helpful  love,  for  the  reformation  of  those  who  had 
gone  astray,  for  the  maintenance  of  homeless  and  orphan 
children,  for  the  comfort  of  the  sick  and  the  prisoner. 
We  were  met  by  operatives  full  of  faith,  and  by  a  holy 
band  of  deaconesses  performing  the  works  of  the  merciful 
sisters  of  the  clergy-church,  without  vows,  in  the  full  free- 
dom of  the  Gospel,  and  in  the  might  of  free,  because 
thankful,  love.  Now^  every  one  who  considers  the  way 
in  which  the  diaconate  first  decayed  and  died,  and  how  it 
is  especially  wanting  in  the  clergy-church,  because  it 
requires  for  its  free  development  the  full  communion  of 
the  laity,  and  the  full  acknowledgment  of  the  universal 
priesthood,  will  readily  comprehend  the  historical  signifi- 
cance of  the  fact,  that  amongst  the  vigorous  offshoots 
of  the  church  life  of  the  present  day,  the  diacanate  is  the 
most  distinctly   and  gloriously  proi  inent.      This  is  the 


INDIVIDUAL   EXERTION.  97 

ministry  of  love,  and  in  a  special  rrMnner  the  ministry  of 
the  church  of  the  Future.  We  may  here  behold  coming 
to  the  birth  the  new  element  of  that  church  of  the  Future, 
whose  birth-throes  we  all  feel,  of  that  free  congregation 
of  faithful  men,  to  which  the  groaning  of  the  creature, 
and  the  ever  more  fearful  revelations  of  the  misery  of 
mankind,  are  pointing.  Here  is  that  ministry  which  is 
open  to  all  ;  here  is  that  approval  of  our  faith  to  which 
every  one  is  called  ;  here  is  that  exercise  of  the  priest- 
hood for  which  every  constitution  of  the  church  gives 
liberty  ;  here  is  that  centre  from  which  the  constitution 
of  this  church  of  the  Future  must  proceed,  if  it  is  to  be 
a  partaker  of  an  inward  and  spiritual  life."  — Bunsen. 

"All  hail  to  such  a  church  of  the  Future  !  The  world 
yearns  for  it,  creation  groans  for  it.  Society  is  sick  at 
heart,  sick  of  sore  maladies  which  politics  can  scarcely 
cure  ;  sick  of  many  empirics  and  few  physicians.  And 
Christ's  church  alone  has  the  panacea  —  the  universal 
cure.  Deacons  and  deaconesses,  brothers  and  sisters  of 
charity,  with  Christ's  love  in  their  hearts,  and  no  pope's 
yoke  on  their  necks  —  priests  and  priestesses,  self-de- 
voted to  the  High  Priest's  own  work  of  going  about  to  do 
good  —  such  is  the  ministry  the  age,  the  church,  and  the 
world  all  demand.  Otherwise,  churches  are  self-consum- 
ing ;  light  and  hfe  go  out  in  a  cold  vacuum.  Pastors, 
elders,  deacons,  schoolmasters,  people,  eat  in  on  them- 
selves and  on  one  another.  Forms  of  polity  and  worship 
stand  ;  rights  of  rule  and  rights  of  choice  are  balanced  ; 
but  love  dies,  and  with  love,  all  peace  and  joy.  An  ear- 
nest out-going  ministry,  in  all  who  are, the  Lord's  —  in 
Dorcas  as  in  Paul  —  is  the  grand  want  of  the  times. 
What  church  will  realize  this  1  That  is  the  church  of 
the  Future.  Bunsen,  Arnold,  Vinet,  Chalmers,  all  are 
one  here.  For  at  the  last,  intellect,  humanity,  piety,  are 
always  one." 

Yes,  this  is  all  true,  and  just,  and  impressive  ;  we  want 
the  Christian  people  to  come  forth,  and  claim  and  exercise 
to  the  utmost  their  privilege,  as  God's  priesthood,  fully 
commissioned  by  the  Divine  Head  of  the  church,  to  evan- 
gelize the  world.     The  re  nainder  of  this  chapter  must 


98  EARNESTNESS    IN 

now  be  devoted  to  a  consideration  of  personal  effort  fot 
the  salvation  of  souls,  viewed  in  the  light  of  a  dutt/. 
Yes,  it  is  the  duty  of  every  one ;  not  an  individual  can 
plead  exemption.  Is  it  not  the  duty  of  every  one  to  love 
God  with  all  his  heart,  and  his  neighbor  as  himself?  If 
so,  does  not  this  love  demand  that  we  should  seek  the 
conversion  of  souls  ?  Can  we  pretend  to  love  God,  and 
not  seek  that  others  should  love  him  too  ?  Or  can  we 
love  our  neighbor,  and  not  seek  his  salvation  ?  Are  not 
all  Christians  represented  as  the  salt  of  the  earth,  and 
the  light  of  the  world  1  And  can  they  answer  to  these 
impressive  figurative  representations  of  their  duty  and 
design,  if  they  never  attempt  to  diffuse  by  personal  effort 
their  holy  religion?  As  we  have  opportunity,  we  are 
commanded  to  do  good.  What  good  is  so  good  as  saving 
souls,  and  have  we  not  all  ever-recurring  opportunities  1 
Consider  your  capability  ;  you  can  do  something  for  the 
salvation  of  souls.  Every  one  who  has  the  knowledge  of 
the  way  of  salvation,  and  a  tongue  to  speak,  can  explam 
it  to  others.  Or  if  too  timid  to  speak,  he  can  give  a  tract, 
or  write  a  letter,  which  will  speak  for  him.  There  is  not, 
in  all  the  family  of  God,  a  single  child  who  can  do 
nothing  for  the  cause  of  his  heavenly  Father,  in  our  apos- 
tate world  ;  and  nothing  more  is  necessary  to  constitute 
obhgation  in  such  a  matter  as  this,  but  the  means  and  an 
opportunity.  If,  when  the  ability  and  opportunity  con- 
cur to  rescue  a  fellow-creature  from  a  watery  grave,  or  a 
fiery  death,  the  obligation  is  complete  ;  how  much  more 
so,  where  the  means  and  opportunity  are  possessed  to 
save  a  soul  from  death,  and  hide  a  multitude  of  sins! 
Souls  are  perishing  all  around  you ;  in  your  town  ;  in 
your  streets  ;  in  your  neighbor's  houses,  and  in  your 
own. 

Say  not  you  can  do  nothing.  Have  you  ever  tried! 
Have  you  ever  taken  a  bundle  of  tracts,  and  gone  out 
into  a  dark  street,  and  entered  the  houses  of  the  poor, 
and  begun  a  conversation  with  them  about  their  souls  ? 
You  have  a  Bible  :  have  you  ever  put  it  m  your  pocket, 
and  gone  to  some  habitation  of  ignorance  and  sin,  and 
asked  permission   to  read  a  chapter  ?     Have  you  ever 


INDIVIDUAL    EXERTION.  99 

written  a  letter  to  an  unconverted  friend  or  relative,  on  the 
subject  of  r3ligion,  and  the  salvation  of  the  soul  ?  Have 
you  ever  mildly  expostulated  with  a  relative  on  the  neg- 
lect of  this  momentous  concern  1  Have  you  ever  gently 
and  gracefully  reproved  a  swearer  or  a  Sabbath  breaker, 
for  his  sin  against  the  Lord  1  Have  you  ever  dropped  a 
word  to  a  fellow-traveller  in  a  steamboat,  or  a  railway 
carriage?  Not  do  anything!  Will  you,  till  you  have 
tried  some  such  simple  and  easy  methods  as  these,  have 
the  courage  to  tell  God  so  1  Not  do  anything  !  Will  you 
degrade  yourself  so  much,  and  sink  so  low  in  your  own 
estimation,  as  to  say  you  are  a  nonenity  in  the  church  as 
regards  the  church's  mission  to  our  world  1  Not  do  any- 
thing !  What  is  it  in  you  that  says  so,  your  indolence  or 
your  modesty "?  You  must  do  something,  or  answer  for  it 
at  the  bar  of  God,  why  you  have  not  done  anything.  Be 
it  that  you  have  only  one  talent,  or  a  fraction  of  a  talent ; 
that  fraction,  or  that  unit,  must  be  employed,  or  you  must 
bear  the  character  and  meet  the  doom  of  the  slothful 
servant. 

Of  course  each  professing  Christian,  in  his  efforts  to 
do  good,  must  consult  his  own  abilities,  means,  and 
opportunities.  It  is  admitted  that  there  are  varieties  here 
which  must  not  be  overlooked.  Every  one  must  say 
"Lord, 'what  wilt  thou  have  me  do?"  and  each  should 
honestly,  and  with  good  intent,  look  into  his  circum- 
stances to  see  what  are  Christ's  claims  upon  him.  Per- 
haps it  will  be  found,  upon  examination,  that  those  do 
least  in  the  way  of  personal  effort  who  have  the  ability  to 
do  most;  I  mean  the  talented,  the  wealthy,  and  the 
manufacturer  who  has  a  large  number  of  persons  in  his 
employ,  and  who  might  be  supposed  to  have  a  great  in- 
fluence over  them.  It  happens  that  with  the  exception  of 
pious  females  of  the  upper  classes,  men  of  talent  and 
business  are  most  rarely  found  engaged  in  personal 
effort  for  the  salvation  of  their  neighbors  ;  they  will  give 
their  money,  and  perhaps  will  also  give  their  time,  to  the 
business  of  committees ;  and  this  so  far  is  well,  for  many 
will  not  do  this ;  but  how  seldom  are  they  found  engaged 
in   personal  effort  for  the  conversion   and  salvation  of 


100  EARNESTNESS    IN 

Others.  Yet  what  might  they  not  do  in  this  way  if  they 
tried?  Their  station  and  thJeir  talents  would  give  them 
advantages  for  tliis  sublime  occupation,  which  others 
do  not  possess.  Conceive  of  the  effect  which  might  be 
expected  to  result,  if  all  the  wealthy  and  intelligent  mem- 
bers of  our  churches  would  give  only  one  hour  a  week 
to  the  labor  of  diffusing  religion,  by  endeavoring  to  influ- 
ence the  minds  of  others,  and  win  their  attention  to  the 
great  concerns  of  religion. 

This  applies  with  especial  force  to  master  manufac- 
turers, and  others  who  have  a  large  number  of  men  in 
their  employ,  and  under  their  influence.  One  gentleman 
is  known  to  me  who  has  several  hundred  men  in  his 
service,  and  who  takes  a  deep  interest  in  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  his  workmen.  He  has  a  Bible  class  for  all 
who  are  willing  to  attend.  He  holds  a  prayer  meeting 
with  them  every  week  ;  distributes  religious  tracts  ;  gives 
them  counsel  and  admonition  ;  encourages  their  attend- 
ance upon  pubhc  worship  without  at  all  exerting  any 
sectarian  influence,  and  is  about  to  establish  for  their 
benefit  a  library  and  reading-room.  He  is  a  catholic- 
spirited  churchman,  but  never  suffers  his  predilections 
for  the  Church  of  England  to  influence  him  in  his 
endeavors  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  objects  of  his 
solicitude.  What  might  not  be  expected  to  our  popula- 
tion if  all  our  manufacturers  and  large  retail  shop-keep- 
ers felt  the  same  pious  solicitude  for  the  souls  of  their 
work-people  and  shopmen  as  does  this  devoted  and 
eminent  servant  of  our  Lord  1  How  this  would  counter- 
act the  infidelity  and  immorality  which  so  extensively 
prevail  among  our  laboring  population,  and  which,  with 
such  busy  assiduity,  are  cherished  by  a  corrupt  press, 
and  by  those  emissaries  of  Satan,  the  teachers  of  scep- 
ticism, profanity,  and  licentiousness!  Our  factories  are 
the  strongholds  of  infidelity.  It  is  there  that  all  the 
elements  of  moral  mischief  mingle  and  ferment.  The 
chaplain  of  the  hospital  in  Birmingham  was  informed  by 
one  of  the  patients  whom  he  visited,  that  out  of  three 
hundred  men  who  worked  in  the  same  manufactory  as  he 
did,  he  could  aflirm  of  his  own  personal  knowledge  that 


INDIVIDUAL  EXERTION.  101 

one  hindred  of  them  were  avowed  infidels.  Now  there 
is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  this  is  a  solitary  case,  but' on 
the  contrary  a  specimen  of  what  very  extensively  prevails. 
It  is  among  these  men  that  the  publications  already 
alluded  to  are  circulated.  Surely  it  becomes  Christian 
masters  to  ask  whether  they  cannot  do  something  to 
arrest  the  progress  of  this  dreadful  mischief.  But  alas  ! 
coo  many  of  the  men  of  trade,  and  even  of  the  Christian 
masters,  are  either  so  little  concerned  about  their  work- 
men as  to  care  for  nothing  but  just  what  measure  of 
profit  they  can  get  from  their  labor,  or  else  they  are  on 
such  bad  terms  with  them  as  to  render  nugatory  any 
efforts  they  might  make  for  their  spiritual  welfare. 

Pious  females  have  ever  been  foremost  in  this  good 
work  of  saving  souls  by  personal  effort,  and  have  been 
eminently  successful  in  their  labors  of  love.  Married 
women,  who  have  but  few  domestic  cares  to  confine  them 
at  home,  and  unmarried  ones  of  a  sufficiently  advanced 
age,  who  have  much  leisure  at  command,  may  be  singu- 
larly useful.  "Devout  and  honorable  women,  not  a 
few,"  are  already  busily  employed  in  this  way.  Chris- 
tian women,  we  appeal  to  you  all,  to  join  this  noble  sister- 
hood of  benevolence.  We  would  not  have  you  lessen 
that  attention  to  the  temporal  wants,  sorrows,  and  cares 
of  your  sex,  for  which  you  are  already  so  eminent,  but 
we  would  have  you  add  to  it  a  still  deeper  solicitude 
for  the  miseries  that  oppress  and  ruin  their  souls.  You 
know  how  the  church  of  Rome  boasts  of  her  "  Sisters 
of  Mercy,"  whom  she  sends  out  from  her  convenis  into 
the  abodes  of  ignorance,  disease,  and  want.  It  is,  after 
all,  but  a  shallow  device,  though  a  plausible  means,  for 
drawing  attention  to  Popery,  and  conciliating  public 
fevor  towards  it.  We  call,  therefore,  upon  you,  without 
abjuring  the  names,  the  duties,  or  the  comforts,  of  the 
wife  and  the  mother,  to  perform  the  service  of  an  evan- 
gelist, and  by  such  acts  as  fall  within  your  own  sphere 
to  spread  abroad  the  knowledge  of  religion,  in  order  to 
save  the  souls  of  your  own  sex,  and  thus  to  be,  in  the 
fullest  sense  of  the  words,  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  indeed. 

Whatever  be  our  situation,  there  is  no  hope  of  om 
9 


102  EARNESTNESS    IN 

doing  much  good  in  this  way  without  hav'ng  a  definite 
object  in  view,  and  pursuing  it  in  a  right  way,  and  with 
a  proper  spirit.  The  direct  aim  should,  of  course,  be 
the  actual  conversion  of  the  soul  to  God.  Where  nothing 
else,  however,  can  be  accomplished,  besides  inducing 
people  to  read  the  Word  of  God  and  religious  books,  and 
to  attend  upon  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  something 
is  done  ;  but  the  aim  of  a  Christian  should  be,  to  be  the. 
instrument  of  making  others  truly  and  really  such  as  he 
is  himself. 

To  accomplish  this  end ,  and  to  find  out  the  best  means 
within  your  power,  you  must  be  studious  and  inventive. 
It  is  astonishing  what  means  will  occur  to  him,  who  is 
deeply  anxious  and  firmly  resolved  upon  the  accomplish- 
ment of  some  great  object.  Let  the  heart  be  once  on 
fire  with  zeal,  and  then  the  light  of  this  sacred  flame  will 
ascend  into  the  judgm.ent,  as  well  as  fall  upon  surround- 
ing objects,  and  disclose  means  and  methods  of  action 
which  will  be  hidden  from  colder  intellects.  When 
once  the  passion  for  saving  souls  has  got  possession  of 
the  heart,  it  will  supply  not  only  incentives  but  instru- 
ments. Necessity  is  the  mother  of  invention,  and  when 
we  are  brought  to  this  determination,  "  \jnust  be  useful ; 
I  must  do  something  to  save  souls ;  I  must  find  means 
of  doing  good;"  means  will  present  themselves;  and 
opportunities  will  occur.  Invention  is  a  secondary  crea- 
tion, and  he  who  cannot  find  opportunities  will  certainly 
make  them.  Read  the  life  of  Harlan  Page,  a  reference 
to  which  will  be  contained  in  a  future  chapter,  and  learn 
in  how  many  ways  a  man,' even  in  humble  life,  may  be 
useful,  whose  heart  is  set  upon  doing  good. 

It  is  of  immense  consequence  to  remember  that  what- 
ever you  do  for  the  salvation  of  souls  m.ust  be  in  the 
earnestness  of  love,  expressed  with  the  meekness  and 
gentleness  of  Christ.  There  is  a  boisterousness  and 
vehemence,  not  to  say  rudeness,  in  the  manner  of  some, 
which  defeat  their  own  object.  They  seem  determined 
to  take  Ihe  citadel  by  storm  ;  while  love  undermines  it, 
and  enters  it  almost  unperceived.  There  is  a  beautiful 
illustration  of  this  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Simeon,  of  Cam- 


INDIVIDUAL     EXERTION.  103 

bridge.  Konig,  the  only  son  of  a  rich  merchant  of 
Amsterdam,  came  over  to  England,  and  was  received  aa 
a  guest  by  Mr.  Simeon's  brother  in  the  Isle  of  Wight. 
It  soon  appeared  that  young  Konig  w^as  destitute  of 
true  religion,  and  ignorant  of  its  principles;  but  his 
appearance  and  manners  were  such  as  to  invite  kindly 
attention  and  feeling.  Mr.  Simeon's  benevolent  heart 
was  drawn  towards  him,  and  he  earnestly  desired  to  win 
this  soul  for  Christ.  One  day  he  was  riding  a  few  yarda 
in  advance  of  a  party  of  which  Konig  was  one.  Konig, 
seeing  Mr.  Suneon  alone,  rode  up  to  join  him ;  and  per- 
ceiving that  his  lips  were  in  motion,  though  he  was  not 
engaged  in  conversation,  inquired,  with  his  usual  simpli- 
city, "  What  he  was  saying."  Mr.  Simeon  replied,  "  I 
vi-as  praying  for  my  young  friend."  These  words  made 
a  deep  impression  upon  the  interesting  youth,  and  caused 
him  to  regard  Mr.  Simeon  as  one  who  was  tenderly 
concerned  fof  liis  welfare.  His  mind  had  in  fact  been 
prepared  by  the  providence  of  God  for  this  impression, 
which  might  otherwise  have  been  transient.  The  party, 
who  were  making  the  tour  of  the  island,  arrived  at  an 
inn,  where  Konig  and  another  gentleman  were  necessi- 
tated to  occupy  a  double-bedded  room.  The  gentleman, 
before  he  retired  to  rest,  knelt  down  and  prayed  by  his 
bed-side.  This,  it  afterwards  appeared,  was  a  new  sight 
to  the  young  Hollander  ;  but  it  went  to  his  heart.  He 
had  long  been  unhappy,  from  feeling  the  unsatisfactori- 
ness  of  the  things  which  are  ordinarily  accounted  capa- 
ble of  conferring  happiness ;  but  knew  not  the  better 
way.  Immediately,  however,  as  he  afterwards  declared, 
he  said  to  himself,  "  How  happy  is  that  man!  What 
would  I  give  to  feel  myself  in  the  hands  of  an  Almighty 
Guide  and  Protector,  as  he  surely  does!"  Under  this 
conviction,  he  fell  upon  his  knees,  which  he  had  not 
before  done  in  private  for  years,  and  the  very  next  morn- 
ing he  unbosomed  himself  to  his  companion.  He  was 
thus  prepared  for  the  reply  of  Mr.  Simeon  to  his  inquiry, 
and  was  not  repelled,  but  encouraged  by  it.  Mr.  Simeon, 
perceiving  that  the  Spirit  of  God  had  marked  this  stran- 
ger for  himself,  resolved  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  train 


104  EARNESl'NESS    IN 

him  for  happiness  and  usefulness.  His  exertions  were 
blessed  for  his  conversion  :  and  the  writer  who  gives  the 
account  says,  in  referring  to  it  afterwards,  "  The  remem- 
brance of  that  youth,  graceful  in  person  and  beaming 
with  benignity,  is  even  now  redolent  with  everything 
lovely  and  of  good  report.  Pie  was  in  fact  ri]:>eiiing  for 
early  removal  to  a  higher  sphere.  He  returned  to  Hol- 
land, where  he  died  of  consumption  ;  but  not  till  he  had 
been  permitted  and  enabled  to  witness  for  his  Saviour  a 
good  confession  in  his  native  city.  The  report  of  his 
behavior  during  his  death  illness  excited  considerable 
interest  and  surprise  in  Amsterdam,  where  his  family 
were  well  known.  Many,  it  has  been  stated,  seemed  to 
say,  '  What  new  thing  is  this?'  " 

This  beautiful  story  is  replete  with  instruction  on  the 
subject  of  this  chapter. 

Such  efforts  require  a  high  state  of  personal  religion 
to  supply  the  impulse,  and  keep  up  the  m#tion.  The 
fire  of  zeal  must  be  fed  with  the  fuel  of  piety,  or  it  will 
be  only  as  "  the  crackling  of  thorns  beneath  a  pot,"  a 
noisy  blaze,  and  a  momentary  one  also.  And  then,  to  be 
useful,  a  Christian  must  be  consistent.  A  diseased  or 
dying  physician  may  be  the  means  of  healing  others ; 
but  an  inconsistent  Christian  only  inspires  revulsion  and 
disgust  by  all  his  endeavors  to  do  good  ;  disgust  not 
cmly  against  himself  as  a  hypocrite,  but  against  the  very 
religion  he  would  teach  as  being  all  hypocrisy  also,  want- 
ing the  confirmation  of  example.  They  who  would  save 
others,  then,  should  exhibit  in  themselves  all  the  holiness 
and  happiness  of  that  salvation  which  it  is  their  aim  to 
communicate.  There  are  some  persons  whom  we  could 
wish  never  to  say  a  word  to  recommend  religion  unless 
they  would  show  its  beauty  in  a  consistent  example  ;  and 
whom  we  could  desire  never  to  attempt  to  save  their 
friends,  miless  they  gave  better  proof  they  were  really 
and  in  earnest  seeking 'to  save  themselves.  Not  that 
the  mstrument  of  conversion  must  of  necessity  himself 
be  absolutely  perfect ;  for  then  none  but  an  angel  from 
heaven  could  be  employed  in  saving  man,  but  he  ought  to 
approach  as  near  to  it  as  possible.     It  should,  moreover 


INDIVIDUAL    EXERTION 


105 


be  recollected  as  an  encouragement  to  Christian  exertion, 
that  it  is  with  the  instrument  of  conversion  as  it  is  with 
many  other  instruments,  it  improves  by  use.  If  you 
would  grow  in  grace  yourselves,  seek  to  be  the  means 
of  communicating  grace  to  others.  A  light  is  brightened 
by  kindling  other  lights,  and  a  fire  is  made  to  burn  with 
a  greater  intensity  by  the  neighboring  fire  which  it  has 
ignited.  We  get  good  by  doing  it ;  and  if  we  save  not 
others,  the  very  attempt  aids,  and  in  one  sense  increases 
our  own  salvation. 

Take  the  following  anecdote  from  America,  in  illus- 
tration of  the  necessity  of  consistency  in  those  who 
would  make  personal  effort  for  the  salvation  of  sinners. 

"An  excellent  minister,  referring  to  his  own  conversion, 
said,  '  When  I  was  yet  a  young  and  thoughtless  man,  a 
pious  deacon  addressed  me  about  my  salvation.  I  was 
angry  :  my  heart  rose  in  bitterness  against  him.  I  re- 
proached him  ;  pointed  out  the  inconsistencies  of  profes- 
sors, talked  indeed  like  a  madman,  while  my  conscience 
was  grinding  me  lilce  a  mill-stone.  He  bore  it  all  with 
meekness,  perfectly  unmoved.  If  he  had  only  given  one 
retort,  shown  one  angry  feeling,  it  would  have  relieved 
me.  His  Christian  meekness  was  too  much  for  me.  I 
went  into  the  woods,  smarting' with  my  wounds,  fell 
under  what  he  had  said  to  me,  and  went  and  asked  his 
pardon.'  " 

And  now  by  what  arguments  can  you  be  persuaded, 
by  what  inducements  moved,  by  what  incentives  excited, 
to  make  these  efforts?  Consider  your  principles.  You 
believe  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul  —  in  the  evil  of 
sin  —  in  the  curse  of  the  law  —  in  the  wrath  of  God  — 
in  the  reality  of  hell  —  in  the  horrors  of  damnation  —  in 
the  intensity  and  eternity  of  the  quenchless  fire.  You 
believe  in  a  merciful  God  —  a  redeeming  Saviour  —  a 
converting  Spirit  —  in  the  possil)ility  of  salvation  for  each 
one  of  the  perishing  millions  around  you  —  in  the  inef- 
fable and  eternal  bliss  of  heaven.  You  believe  that  it  is 
God's  will  that  those  men  should  be  saved,  and  that  they 
should  be  saved  by  human  instrumentality,  and  by  your 
exertions  among  the  other  means  of  life  eternal.  This, 
9# 


106  EARNESTNESS   IN 

all  this,  is  in  your  creed.  Christians,  study  afresh  youi 
articles  of  faith,  that  you  may  know  more  accurately 
than  you  seem  to  do,  what  ought  to  be  the  obligations 
of  your  conscience,  and  the  actions  of  your  life.  Indeed, 
you  must  do  more,  or  believe  less  ;  your  creed  and  your 
conduct  are  at  variance.  Follow  only  one  human  soul 
into  eternity  ;  trace  its  endless  course  through  delights 
which  flesh  and  blood  could  not  sustain  ;  or  through 
torments  which  human  nature  must  have  supernatural 
strength  to  endure  ;  pursue  it  along  the  course  of  its  eter- 
nal progression,  and  contemplate  it  maldng  acquisitions  in 
knowledge,  holiness,  and  happiness,  all  but  infinite,  and 
leaving  behind  eten  the  former  attainments  of  cherubim 
and  seraphim  —  or  forever  sinking  from  gulf  to  gulf  of 
misery  and  despair  in  the  bottomless  abyss  —  and  then 
conceive,  if  it  be  possible,  in  some  tolerable  degree,  what 
an  event  is  the  salvation  of  a  single  soul !  And  when 
you  have  revolved  the  comprehension  of  this  mighty  and 
mysterious  unit  of  a  single  soul,  carry  it  on  to  the  tens, 
and  hundreds,  and  thousands,  or  tens  of  thousands  of 
such  souls  that  are  hurrying  on  to  eternity,  even  in  the 
town  where  you  dwell !  Christians,  again  I  say,  abjure 
these  vast  ideas,  or  act  more  conformably  to  them. 
Abandon  your  belief  in  these  stupendous  realities,  or  at 
any  rate  prove  that  you  are  absolved  from  the  obligation 
of  arresting  this  tide  of  ruin,  and  swelling  this  stream 
of  salvation,  or  else  be  more  in  earnest  in  your  endeavor 
to  save  souls.  You  must  do  one  or  the  other.  In  youi 
present  conduct,  with  such  a  profession  upon  your  lips, 
and  with  such  lukewarmness  in  your  zeal,  your  conduct  is 
the  most  monstrous  inconsistency  in  our  world.  Infidels 
see  it,  and  comparing  your  creed  and  your  conduct,  taunt 
you  with  your  hypocrisy.  "  I  remember,"  says  Mr.  Bin- 
ney,  "  a  very  striking  circumstance  which  a  neighboring 
minister  mentioned  to  me  in  proof  of  this.  There  was 
in  the  town  in  which  he  preached,  an  avowed  and  deter- 
mined infidel.  lie  saw  this  man  one  Sunday  evening  in 
his  p'ace  of  worship.  He  was  preaching  on  some  of  the 
great  verities  of  faith,  and  the  duties  resulting  therefrom. 
As  he  was,  the  next  morning,  passing  the  door  of  the 


INDIVIDUAL    EXERTION.  107 

man,  he  was  standing  at  it,  and  he  said  to  him,  '  I  saw 
you  at  worship  last  night,  and  was  rather  surprised  to  see 
you  there,  as  you  do  not  beheve  what  I  was  preaching.' 
'  No,'  said  he,  '  nor  you  either.'  '  Indeed.'  '  No  ;'  he 
went  on  to  say,  '  why,  if  I  were  to  beheve  the  things 
you  affirm  to  be  true,  and  which  are  written  in  your 
books,  I  should  not  know  how  to  contain  myself.  I 
should  feel  their  importance  so  much,  that  I  should  ex- 
hibit them  wherever  I  went.  I  should  not  know  how  to 
hold  in  the  enthusiasm  they  would  excite.  But  I  do  not 
believe  them,  nor  do  you,  or  you  would  be  very  different 
people  from  what  you  are.'  "  Dreadful  sarcasm  !  Cut- 
ting irony  !  Withermg  rebuke  !  But  how  deserved ' 
Shall  we  not  feel  it  ?  Shall  we  not  learn  our  defect,  our 
duty,  our  inconsistency,  even  from  an  infidel  1  Let  us 
look  at  and  judge  ourselves  as  infidels  do,  who  examine 
us  and  try  us  by  our  creed  and  profession.  Rise,  rise  to 
action  !  do  something  worthy  of  your  principles !  Roll 
away  the  reproach,  and  silence  the  taunt,  of  your  adver- 
saries ! 

Think  of  the  honor  of  success  !  What  a  volume, 
never  to  be  fully  known  in  this  world,  is  comprehended 
in  the  apostle's  beautiful  language,  "  Brethren,  if  any  of 
you  do  err  from  the  truth,  and  one  convert  him  ;  let  him 
know  that  he  who  converteth  a  sinner  from  the  error  of 
his  ways  shall  save  a  soul  from  death,  and  shall  hide  a 
multitude  of  sins."  A  vagrant  sinner,  wandering  from 
God,  from  holiness,  and  bliss,  restored  to  the  fountain  of 
life  and  light  —  a  soul,  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  quick- 
ened into  life  —  a  multitude  of  sins,  each  one  of  w^hich 
containing  the  sentence  and  the  venom  of  an  eternal 
curse,  all  covered  over  by  an  act  of  pardoning  mercy,  — 
what  an  achievement !  The  liberation  of  a  nation  from  the 
fetters  of  slaver}'^,  and  the  rescue  of  an  empire  from  the 
ravages  of  a  pestilence,  viewed  as  temporal  deliverances, 
are  not  to  be  compared  with  the  eternal  salvation  of  one 
immortal  soul !  Had  one  of  the  planets  of  our  system 
broken  the  chain  of  gravity,  and  was  rushing  off  into 
space,  threatening  ruin  to  itself,  and  to  other  orbs,  into 
collision  with  which,  in  its  course  of  destruction,  it  might 


108 


EARNESTNESS    IN 


be  brough;,  and  it  were  in  our  power  to  restore  it  again 
to  its  place,  its  dependence,  and  its  order  ;  it  would  be 
less  a  matter  of  exultation,  than  to  be  the  instrument  of 
saving  a  single  soul  from  the  bitter  pains  of  eternal  death. 
What  was  the  civic  crown  awarded  to  him  who  had  saved 
the  life  of  a  Roman  soldier  on  the  field  of  battle  ;  or  the 
statue  of  brass  erected  to  him  who  had  defeated  his 
country's  foe  in  a  hundred  battles  ;  or  the  shrine  pre- 
pared in  the  temple  of  fame  for  him  who  had  enriched 
his  country  and  the  world  by  some  splendid  discovery  in 
science,  or  invention  in  the  arts,  compared  with  the  crown 
of  amaranth  which  shall  flourish  forever  on  the  brow  of 
the  Christian  who  hath  saved  a  soul  from  death  ?  Medals, 
statues,  arches,  processions,  are  all  puerilities  compared 
with  this  ;  and  such  is  the  distinction  placed  within  the 
reach  of  every  child  of  God !  What  an  incentive  to 
earnestness  this  !  and  yet  how  few  the  competitors  for 
such  a  crown,  and  such  an  honor  ! 

Consider,  moreover,  what  others  have  done,  and 
done  with  no  greater  advantages  than  you  have  pos- 
sessed. Instances  have  occurred,  perhaps  within  the 
range  of  your  own  observation,  of  persons  who  have 
laid  themselves  out  with  extraordinary  earnestness,  and 
with  as  extraordinary  success,  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 
They  have  been  the  honored  instruments  of  bringing 
many  to  Christ.  It  is  their  exquisite  felicity  on  earth, 
and  will  be  their  still  higher  felicity  in  heaven,  to  receive 
the  grateful  acknowledgments  of  those  whom  they  have 
plucked  as  brands  from  the  burning.  This  is  a  happiness 
which  angels  know  not.  They  indeed  rejoice  over  sou.s 
converted  by  others,  but  never  over  any  converted  by 
themselves  :  in  this  particular,  they  are  inferior  to  many 
a  poor  peasant,  who  has  been  the  instrument  of  saving  a 
soul  fi-om  death.  Envy  not  such  persons,  but  imitate 
thdm.  Their  bliss  may  be  yours.  What  they  have 
done,  you,  by  God's  grace,  may  do.  It  was  not  by  might 
nor  by  power  that  they  did  it,  but  by  God's  truth  and  by 
God's  Spirit.  The  truth  may  be  presented  by  you  as  it 
was  by  them,  and  God's  Spirit  is  as  willing  to  come  on 
your  humble  labors,  as  he  was  upon  theirs.     He  loves  to 


INDIVIDUAL    EXERTION.  109 

bless  feeijla  but  willing  instruments,  that  he  may  mxgnify 
hiis  oUTi  po^v^er. 

As  proof  of  what  some  others  have  done,  take  the 
following  instance,  which  has  been  brought  under  my 
notice  by  one  of  our  home  missionaries,  in  a  letter  I  lately 
received  from  him.  After  describing  the  great  spirituaJ 
destitution  of  large  tracts  of  our  country,  and  our  inabil- 
ity to  supply  by  any  organization  we  now  have,  or  are 
ever  likely  to  have,  this  lamented  deficiency,  he  adds, 
"  I  have  been  thinking  of  a  plan,  which  in  some  instances 
has  been  tried  and  greatly  blessed,  for  the  spread  of  the 
gospel  and  the  conversion  of  souls.  Are  there  not  in  the 
churches  of  our  cities  and  large  towns,  men  of  ardent  piety 
and  love  to  souls,  of  ability  to  preach  the  gospel  ivith  sim- 
plicity, affection,  and  power,  of  ivealth  to  support  them- 
selves, and  leisure  to  labor  for  God  and  precious  souls  ? 
Are  not  some  of  their  talents  buried,  for  want  of  a  proper 
sphere  for  their  exertion  ?  Could  they  not  obtain  a  com- 
fortable residence  for  themselves  in  these  districts,  and 
devote  themselves  to  the  eternal  welfare  of  those  for 
whom  no  other  spiritual  provision  is  made  ? 

"A  dear  relative  of  mine,  some  years  ago,  had  a 
considerable  amount  of  property  left  him.  He  at  once 
retired  from  business,  to  devote  himself  entirely  to  the 
work  of  the  Lord.  He  was  the  instrument  of  intro- 
ducing the  gospel  to  this  town  where  I  now  labor.  He 
went  to  reside  at  a  village  about  eight  miles  from  hence. 
He  there  began  to  preach,  built  one  chapel,  then  another, 
and  then  another,  in  different  hamlets.  We  have  two 
village  chapels  connected  with  us  besides.  Other  chapels 
in  this  locality  sprung  from  his  efforts.  It  is  gratifying 
and  astonishing  to  consider  how  the  gospel  has  spread, 
and  is  still  spreading  ;  and  we  trace  back  these  streams 
to  the  blessing  of  God  upon  the  efforts  of  this  servant  of 
his.  He  died  in  the  pulpit,  nearly  four  years  ago.  His 
son,  now  residing  upon  his  own  farm,  is  the  zealous  and 
successful  pastor  of  the  church  which  his  father  was  the 
instrument  of  gathering.  Two  day  schools  and  four 
Sabbath  schools  have  arisen  from  the  same  efforts. 

**  Now,  sir,  are  tl  ere  not  others  connected  with  oui 


J  10  EARNESTNESS    IN 

churches  who  may  go  and  do  Ukewise  ?  May  we  not 
believe  that  God  would  crown  with  his  blessing  such 
efforts  as  these?" 

Believe  !  We  are  sure  of  if.  This  is  what  we  want. 
This  we  must  have,  or  we  can  never  overtake  the  popu- 
lation of  our  counlTy  with  the  means  of  grace.  I  say 
again  and  again,  and  I  say  it  with  all  possible  emphasis, 
and  would  send  it,  if  I  could,  with  a  trumpet-blast  over 
the  land,  '^Societies  must  not  he  substitutes  for  personal 
labors.  Organization  must  not  crush  individualism.^^ 
Here  was  an  individual  waiting  for  no  society,  but  going 
off  himself  to  the  scene  of  moral  desolation  —  venturing 
alone  into  the  wilderness  —  going  single-handed,  but 
strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  power  of  his  might,  to 
pour  the  light  of  truth  over  a  dark  neighborhood.  See 
how  God  honored  and  blessed  him  !  what  good  he  did  !  — 
what  a  name  he  left !  Ye  pious,  well-read,  gifted,  and 
zealous  tradesmen,  who  have  talents  as  well  as  piety, 
and,  in  addition  to  all  these,  abundant  wealth,  or  a  com- 
petency, at  any  rate,  why  not  imitate  this  beautiful  exam- 
ple 1  Why  content  yourselves  with  getting  more  wealth, 
which  you  do  not  want,  when  you  might  be  employed 
in  building  chapels,  forming  churches,  saving  souls,  and 
planting  schools "?  How  noble  an  association  — •  the  coun- 
try gentleman  and  the  village  pastor  !  the  retired  trades- 
man and  the  preacher  of  the  gospel !'  Is  there  nothing 
to  fire  your  ambition,  to  excite  your  ardor,  to  kindle  a 
holy  enthusiasm,  in  such  a  prospect  and  such  a  hope  ?  I 
am  not  setting  aside  an  educated  ministry,  by  a  system 
of  lay  preaching,  but  am  speaking  of  spots  where  no 
congregation  exists,  no  chapel  is  built,  and  where  none 
is  ever  likely  to  exist  without  some  such  plan  as  this. 

Remember  kow  little  you  have  hitherto  done. 
You  have  experimentally  known  the  way  of  salvation, 
and  the  value  of  a  soul,  these  ten,  twenty,  thirty  years, 
and  yet,  up  to  this  hour,  you  have  perhaps  never  won  a 
soul  to  God !  perhaps  have  never  tried.  Man^ellous ! 
Painful  neglect,  in-etrievable  omission !  The  wasted 
hours  can  never  be  recalled,  t^e  lost  souls  that  have 
dropped  into  the  pit  from  beneatt  vour  very  eye  and  hand 


INDIVIDUAL  EXIRTION.  Ill 

can  never  be  placed  again  within  the  circle  of  your  influ- 
ence. As  you  saw  them  falling,  you  stretched  out  no 
helping  hand,  and  there  amidst  the  torments  of  despair 
they  are,  uttering  their  reproaches  upon  your  cruel  indif- 
ference. Time  is  still  rolling  on  ;  souls  are  still  crowd- 
ing to  perdition,  and  soon,  soon,  both  you  and  they  will 
be  in  eternity !  Hasten,  oh  hasten,  to  the  scene  of  ruin  ! 
put  forth  every  energy  !  their  damnation  lingers  not,  and 
shall  your  compassion  linger  1  Shall  your  efforts  still  be 
withheld  ? 

Once  more  consider  what  would  be  the  result,  ivere  all 
THE  MEMBERS  of  our  churches  stirred  up  to  an  earnest^ 
endeavor  to  save  souls.  Take  a  community  of  Christians, 
of  three,  four,  or  five  hundred  communicants,  yea,  of  a 
lesser  number,  and  think  of  all  these,  each  in  his  own 
sphere,  and  according  to  his  own  talents,  means,  and 
opportunity,  laboring  for  God  and  souls.  Think  of  five 
hundred,  or  even  of  one  hundred,  scattered  over  the  whole 
expanse  of  a  town  or  village,  communicating  more  or  less 
with  the  whole  population  :  some  of  them  masters  and 
mistresses  at  the  head  of  families  ;  others  manufacturers 
presiding  over  large  establishments  of  workmen  ;  others 
servants  in  the  midst  of  godless  families ;  others  work- 
men surrounded  by  wicked  fellow-workers  ;  others  rich 
or  well  informed,  and  possessing  considerable  influence  in 
society  ;  others  poor  and  inhabiting  courts  where  neigh- 
bors on  all  hands  have  an  opportunity  to  see  their  conduct 
and  hear  their  conversation  ;  others  young  and  possessing 
all  the  health  and  energy  of  their  years,  and  in  the  habit 
of  meeting  with  persons  of  their  own  age  ;  —  let  such  a 
community  be  conceived  of,  where  all  these  members 
were  walking  in  holy  conversation  and  godliness,  sending 
forth  the  light  of  a  beautiful  example,  full  of  zeiJ,  labor- 
ing for  the  salvation  of  their  fellows,  and  inspired  with 
the  ambition  and  animated  with  the  hope  of  saving  souls 
by  personal  effort,  each  studying  what  he  could  do,  and 
each  doing  what  he  could  —  what  might  not  be  looked 
for  as  the  glorious  result  of  such  general  activity,  zeal, 
and  earnestness  ?  What  an  awakening  would  take  place, 
what  revivals  would  come  on  !     Would  not  God  pour  out 


112     EARNESTNESS    IN    INDIVIDUAL    EXERTION. 

his  Spirit  on  such  churches  as  these  ?  What  prayer 
would  ascend,  and  what  showers  of  blessings  would  come 
down  in  their  season  !  When  our  churches  shall  exhibit 
such  scenes  as  these,  then  will  God's  work  go  on  in  the 
earth  !  And  why  do  they  not  exhibit  such  scenes  ?  Are 
not  these  the  scenes  they  ought  to  exhibit  ?  Is  not  this 
the  intention  for  which  they  are  raised  up  ?  Friends  of 
Christ,  and  truth,  and  God,  look  back  for  a  moment  again 
to  the  horrifying  details  of  a  former  part  of  this  chapter  — 
read  again  the  statistics  of  the  Pandemonium  of  infidelity 
and  immorality,  and  say  if  the  passion  for  ruining  souls 
shall  be  more  intense  among  the  emissaries  of  Satan,  than 
the  passion  for  saving  them  shall  be  among  the  followers 
of  the  Lamb.  O  what,  and  who,  shall  rouse  the  church 
of  God  to  a  sense  of  her  duty,  her  destiny,  and  her  honor, 
as  God's  instrument  for  converting  an  ungodly  world  ? 
Where  is  the  more  than  trumpet  breath  that  with  the 
thunders  of  the  skies  and  the  voice  of  eternal  truth  shaU 
break  in  upon  the  slumber  of  a  luxarious  church,  and 
rouse  her  to  her  mission  as  a  witnessing  and  a  proselyting 
body  !  What  visitations  of  mercy  or  of  judgment ;  what 
internal  commotions,  or  external  assaults  ;  what  national 
convulsions  or  social  disruptions,  are  necessary  to  call  her 
to  her  work,  and  prepare  her  to  perform  it  ?  When  shall 
all  controversies  seem  to  be  little  or  nothing,  compared 
with  the  church's  one  great  controversy  against  sin, 
Satan,  and  perdition  ?  Whei^  shall  every  Christian  feel 
that  God's  chief  end  of  keeping  him  out  of  heaven  for  a 
season  is  that  he  might  keep  immortal  souls  out  of  hell  ? 
When  shall  another  Luther  rise  up  in  the  midst  of  the 
Protestant  church,  and  reform  us  from  our  worldly -mind 
edness,  even  as  the  first,  delivered  us  from  Popery  ? 
When  shall  another  Whitfield  pass  through  the  midst  of 
us,  and  with  his  burning  eloquence  kindle  a  fire  of  zeal  in 
our  hearts  which  shall  consume  the  dross  of  earthliness, 
and  purify  the  gold  of  our  faith  ?  Shall  infidelity, 
popery,  and  false  philosophy,  share  the  world  between 
them]  Individual  Christians,  priesthood  of  God,  con- 
sider and  decide. 


CHAPTER     V. 

CHRISTIAN    EARNESTNESS    IN    FAMILY    RELIGION. 

The  next  step  from  individual  earnestness  is  to  that 
which  is  expressed  at  the  head  of  this  chapter.  This, 
of  course,  has  reference  to  the  duties  of  parents.  It  is 
not  my  intention  to  enter  at  large  on  the  great  subject  in  all 
its  details  of  religious  education  ;  this  I  have  already  done 
in  my  work  entitled  "  The  Family  Monitor,  or  Help  to 
Domestic  Happiness  ;"  but  to  insist  on  the  importance 
and  necessity  of  carrying  forward  this  work  with  the 
most  intense  solicitude  and  the  most  untiring  devoted- 
ness.  Perhaps  at  no  period  in  the  church's  history  has 
this  been  understood  and  felt  as  it  ought  to  be  ;  but  it  is 
to  be  feared  that  there  have  been  few  periods  since  the 
revival  of  religion,  when  it  has  been  less  felt  than  it  is 
now.  How  few  are  the  habitations,  even  of  professors, 
upon  entering  which  the  stranger  would  be  compelled  to 
say,  "  Surely  this  is  the  house  of  God,  this  is  the  gate 
of  heaven  !"  And  yet  ought  it  not  to  be  so  ?  Ought  not 
the  dwellings  of  the  righteous  to  be  filled  with  the  very 
element  of  piety,  the  atmosphere  of  true  religion  1  It 
may  be  that  family  prayer,  such  as  it  is,  is  coldly  and 
formally,  though  with  little  seriousness  and  no  unction, 
performed  ;  but  even  this,  in  many  cases,  is  wholly  omit 
ted,  and  scarcely  anything  remains  to  indicate  that  God 
has  found  a  dwelling  in  that  house.  There  may  be  no 
actual  dissipation,  no  drunkenness,  no  card-playing,  but 
oh,  how  little  of  true  devotion  is  there  !  How  few  fami- 
lies are  there  so  conducted  as  to  make  it  a  matter  of  sur- 
prise that  any  of  the  children  of  such  households  should  turn 
out  otherwise  than  pious  !  how  many  that  lead  us  greatly 
to  wonder  that  any  of  the  children  should  turn  out  other- 
wise than  irrehgious !  Now  the  church  cannot  be  in 
10 


114  EARNESTNESS    IN 

earnest  if  its  families  are  not.  An  awakening  attention 
to  the  claims  of  religion  must  begin  in  the  domestic  circle. 
Ministers  may  be  in  earnest  for  the  salvation  of  the  young, 
schoolmasters  and  mistresses  may  be  in  earnest  for  their 
salvation,  but  if  parents  also  are  not,  all  the  efforts  and 
influence  both  of  the  pulpit  and  the  school  united  will  be 
in  vain.  Home  is  usually  the  mould  of  character  ;  and 
the  parent  is  the  help  or  hindrance  of  the  minister  of 
religion.  Parents,  this  chapter,  then,  is  for  you.  .Fath- 
ers and  mothers,  read  not  another  line  until  you  have 
lifted  up  your  hearts  to  God  in  prayer,  for  a  blessing  on 
what  is  now  submitted  to  your  attention. 

Thoroughly  understand  and  remember  what  it  is  we 
aire  jiow  considering  ;  it  is  not  merely  religious  education, 
but  earnestness  in  this  momentous  duty.  It  is  not  whether 
you  are  paying  some  attention  to  the  salvation  of  your 
children,  but  whether  you  are  paying  such  attention  as 
this  great  subject  requires  ;  whether  you  are  so  devoting 
yourself  to  tlie  religious  education  of  your  children  as 
that  a  visitor  on  leaving  your  house  shall  bear  this  testi- 
mony concerning  your  parental  solicitude  :  "  That  father 
and  mother  are  really  anxious  for  their  children's  salva- 
tion ;  it  is  seen  in  all  their  conduct.  This  is  the  ques- 
tion, whether  you  are  so  pursuing  this  object  as  that 
your  children  themselves  shall  say,  "  My  father  and 
mother  are  truly  in  earnest  about  my  soul."  This  is  the 
question,  I  repeat,  whether  religion  is  the  great  thing, 
the  one  thing,  you  are  pursuing  for  them  ?  Does  this 
gather  up  into  itself  your  chief  solicitude  and  your  gen- 
eral plans  ?  What  I  mean  by  the  earnestness  of  domestic 
religion  will  be  obvious  from  the  following  considera- 
tions. 

I.  It  includes  a  deep  thoughtfulness  about  the  subject ; 
a  religious  thoughtfulness.  You.  will,  if  you  are  thus 
pensive,  often  say  ;  "I  am  a  parent.  I  am  a  Christian 
parent.  I  profess  to  believe  that  my  child  has  a  soul,  the 
salvation  or  the  loss  of  which  will  depend  much  upon  me. 
Yes,  upon  me  does  it  much  depend  whether  my  children 
are  to  be  forever  in  glory,  or  in  perdition.  How  inex- 
Pire.s.sjblj  .aw'ful !     How  tremendously  important !     I  have 


FAMILY    RELIGION.  115 

not  only  bodies  to  care  for,  or  minds  to  cultivate,  but 
souls,  immortal  souls,  to  bring  to  Christ !  Every  other 
parent,  the  beast,  the  bird,  teaches  by  instinct  to  their 
offspring  the  highest  good  of  which  theh*  nature  is  capa- 
ble ;  and  shall  I,  by  neglecting  to  teach  mine  religion, 
leave  out  the  highest  good  of  which  their  immortal  nature 
is  susceptible  1  Even  the  sea  monsters  draw  out  the 
breast,  yea  they  give  suck  to  their  young  ;  and  shall  I  be 
more  cruel  than  they  V 

n.  There  must  be  a  right  understanding  and  a  con- 
stant re.collection  of  the  nature  and  design  of  the  domestic 
constitution. 

Families  are  the  nurseries  both  of  the  state  and  of  the 
church  ;  and  if  this  be  true,  then  the  design  of  the 
domestic  economy  must  be  to  form  the  good  citizen  and 
the  true  Christian.  No  doubt  the  present  and  future 
welfare  of  the  individual  members  of  each  household, 
their  right  conduct  towards  each  other,  and  their  own 
good  training  for  any  domestic  relations  they  may  sustain, 
are  the  proximate  objects  to  be  sought ;  but  the  ultimate 
end  is  the  formation  of  a  character  in  which  patriotism, 
loyalty,  and  piety,  shall  be  beautifully  united  and  har- 
monized. Well  instructed,  well' ordered,  and  well  gov- 
erned families,  are  the  springs  which  from  their  retire- 
ments send  forth  the  tributary  streams  that  make  up  by 
their  confluence  the  majestic  flow  of  national  greatness 
and  prosperity.  No  state  can  be  prosperous  where  fam- 
ily order  and  subordination  are  generally  neglected,  and 
every  one  loill  be  prosperous,  whatever  be  its  form  of 
political  government,  where  these  are  maintained.  Dis- 
orderly families  are  the  sources  of  vicious  characters, 
pestilent  criminals,  factious  demagogues,  turbiJent, 
rebels,  and  tyrannical  oppressors,  who  are  their  neigh- 
bors' torment  and  their  country's  scourge. 

But  every  family  has  also  a  sacred  character  belonging 
to  it,  which  ought  ever  to  be  sustained  ;  I  mean  it  is  a 
preparatory  school  both  for  the  church  militant  and  the 
church  triumphant,  where  the  immortal  soul  is  to  be 
trained  up,  by  the  influence  of  a  pious  education,  for  the 
fellowship  of  saints  on  earth,  and  for  the  felicities  of  a 


116  EARNESTNESS    IN 

higher  association  still,  in  heaven.  The  mother,  as  she 
presses  her  babe  to  her  bosom,  or  sees  the  httle  gioup 
sporting  around  the  hearth  ;  and  the  father,  as  he  collects 
the  circle  round  his  chair  or  his  table  ;  as  he  directs  their  ed- 
ucation, or  selects  for  them  their  future  occupation,  should 
never  forget  to  say  to  themselves,  "  These  are  given  to  us 
that  we  may  train  them  up  to  be  useful  members  of  society, 
and  holy  members  of  the  church.  God  and  our  country  will 
demand  them  at  our  hands.  Yea,  the  destinies  of  the  world 
will  in  some  measure  be  affected  by  them,  and  the  present 
and  all  future  generations  of  mankind  have  claims  upon  us 
in  reference  to  the  training  of  our  children."  Yes,  those 
children  are  something  more  than  living  domestic  play- 
things ;  something  more  than  animated  household  orna- 
ments, who,  by  theu'  elegant  accompMshments,  and  grace- 
ful manners,  shall  adorn  the  habitation,  and  constitute  a 
father's  pride,  a  mother's  boast :  they  are  the  future  gen- 
eration of  our  country,  and  the  next  race  of  friends  or 
enemies  to  the  cause  of  God  on  earth.  The  family,  then, 
I  repeat,  is  the  mould  of  the  state  and  the  church,  where 
the  members  of  both  are  cast  and  formed,  and  this  ought 
never,  for  a  single  day,  to  be  forgotten. 

III.  Earnestness  implies  a  deep  sense  of  the  tremen- 
dous responsibility/  of  the  parental  relation.  Delightful  as 
it  may  be  to  hear  the  infant  prattle  ;  to  witness  the  gam- 
bols of  childhood's  joyous  years ;  to  mark  the  growing 
development  of  faculty,  and  the  gradual  formation  of 
character  during  youth's  advance  to  manhood  ;  interesting 
as  it  is  to  see  the  slow  unfolding  of  the  human  flower,  a 
solemn  sense  of  responsibility  ought,  with  all  tins,  to 
come  over  the  mind.  It  is  an  awful  expression,  "  I  am  a 
parent ;"  for  what  is  this  but  saying,  "  I  have  immortal 
souls  intrusted  to  my  care,  whose  destiny  for  eternity  will~ 
be  affected  by  my  conduct?"  Fond  mother,  look  at  that 
babe  hanging  on  thy  breast,  and  those  other  children 
sporting  around  your  knee  ;  and  thou,  the  father  of  the 
group,  watching  with  a  parent's  and  a  husband's  swelling 
heart,  thy  wife  and  the  mother  of  thy  children,  and  in- 
dulging only  in  joyous  emotions,  and  sportive  expressions, 
pause,  ponder,  reflect !  millions  of  ages  from  that  moment 


FAMILY    RELIGION.  117 

of  domestic  ecstasy,  every  one  of  those  little  happy  crea- 
tures will  be  either  in  heaven,  or  in  hell  —  v^^ill  be  a  seraph 
or  a  fiend  —  will  be  enduring  inconceivable  torment,  or  en- 
-oving  ineffable  felicity  ;  and  much,  as  to  which  it  shall 
DC,  will  depend  upon  you.  Overwhelming  thought !  Is 
it  true?  Can  it  be  true?  It  is  ;  and  you  admit  it,  at 
least  by  profession.  Then,  I  say  again,  how  tremendous 
the  responsibility  of  a  parent !  This  is  earnestness,  to 
have  this  fact  written  on  our  very  heart ;  to  see  it  ever 
standing  out  in  visible  characters  before  our  eyes  ;  to 
carry  it  with  us  everywhere,  and  into  everything  ;  to  be 
ever  saying  to  ourselves,  "  My  child  is  immortal,  and  his 
eternal  destiny  in  great  measure  depends  upon  me.  I  am 
not  only  the  father  of  his  existence,  but  in  some  measure 
of  his  destiny.  I  shall  be  the  means,  perhaps,  of  raising 
him  to  heaven,  or  sinking  him  to  perdition.  I  am  edu- 
cating him  to  be  an  associate  with  the  devil  and  his  an- 
gels in  everlasting  fire,  or  a  companion  with  the  innumer- 
able company  of  angels  in  glory  everlasting.  O  God,  help 
me  !  for  who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ?" 

lY.  Arising  out  of  this,  and  as  a  necessary  adjunct, 
earnestness  implies  a  concentration  of  our  chief  solicitude 
upon  the  salvation  of  the  soul.  A  Christian  parent,  who 
is  not  only  nominally  anxious  for  the  salvation  of  his  chil- 
dren, but  really  so,  often  says  to  himself,  "  Yes,  I  see 
it ;  I  feel  it ;  I  own  it ;  my  children  are  immortal  crea- 
tures ;  their  souls  are  intrusted  to  my  care,  and  will  be 
required  at  my  hands,  and  their  salvation  depends  much 
upon  me.  Then,  by  God's  grace,  '  this  one  thing  I  do,'  I 
will  make  their  salvation,  above  all  things  besides,  the- 
object  of  my  desire,  of  my  pursuit,  and  of  my  prayer,. 
1  will  neglect  nothing  that  can  conduce  to  their  respec- 
tability, comfort,  and  usefulness  in  this  world  ;  but  above^ 
and  beyond  this,  I  will  chiefly  desire  and  do  whatever  can 
conduce  to  the  salvation  of  their  souls.  Their  religious, 
character  shall  be,  in  my  estimation  with  reference  ta 
them,  the  one  thing  needful.  What  shall  I  do,  what  can 
I  do,  that  they  might  be  saved  ?"  Ah,  this  is  it ;  an  ever 
wakeful  concern  for  their  eternal  welfare,  an  hiventive 
solicitude  for  their  immortal  destiny  ;  a  detennined,  reso- 
10* 


118  EARNESTNESS     IN 

lute  subordination  of  everything  else  to  this  as  the 
supreme  object.  Such  a  solicitude  as  never  sleeps,  noi 
tires  ;  such  a  solicitude  as  leads,  like  all  other  anxieties, 
to  the  right  use  of  means.  Not  merely  a  concern,  but  the 
concern  ;  not  one  among  many  objects,  but  the  one  great, 
commanding,  controlhng,  absorbing  object ;  which,  if  it  be 
not  gained,  makes  a  father  or  a  mother  mourn  over  the 
highest  degree  of  worldly  prosperity  to  which  a  child  can 
attain,  and  exclaim,  "  Yes,  he  is  successful  for  this 
world,  and  of  course  I  am  not  insensible  to  the  advantage 
of  this  ;  but  alas  !  it  is  un sanctified  prosperity,  which  I 
would  gladly  and  gratefully  exchange,  on  his  behalf,  for 
sanctified  adversity." 

V.  An  earnest  man  will  be  cautious  to  avoid  mistakes  : 
he  will  say  to  any  one  who  can  give  him  information, 
*'  Do  guard  me  against  error,  that  I  maybe  kept  from 
misspending  my  time,  and  misdirecting  my  labor."  Now 
there  are  some  mistakes  in  education,  against  which  the 
Christian  parent  should  be  cautioned,  and  against  which 
he  should  most  assiduously  guard.  A  very  common  and 
a  most  fatal  one  is  that  the  conversion  of  children  is  rather 
to  be  looked  for  as  a  sudden  thing,  which  is  to  be  expected 
as  the  result  of  some  single  event,  such  as  a  sermon,  or 
an  address,  or  a  letter,  or  the  perusal  of  a  book,  rather 
than  from  a  systematic  and  continued  course  of  instruc- 
tion, discipline,  and  example.  It  is  a  very  frequent,  and 
I  am  afraid  almost  universal  thing,  for  Christian  parents  to 
say  to  themselves,  and  sometimes  as  an  excuse  for  their 
'Own  indolence  and  neglect,  "  We  are  taught  that  regener- 
:ation  is  a  sudden  and  instantaneous  change  wrought  by 
the  Spirit  of  God  ;  and  therefore,  though  my  children 
■exhibit  no  symptoms  of  religious  concern  at  present, 
yet  I  hope  the  time  will  come,  when,  by  the  bless- 
ing of  God  upon  some  event,  or  some  means  or  other, 
they  will  be  brought  suddenly  and  at  once  to  decis- 
ion. Perhaps  it  may  be  at  school,  for  I  have  selected 
pious  instructors  ;  or  it  may  be  by  the  preaching  of  the 
;.gospel,  for  they  hear  very  faithful  and  energetic  minis- 
ters ;  or  it  may  be  by  some  visitation  of  God  in  the  way 
4)f  bodily  sickness.     I  Uve  in  hope  that  the  good  time  will 


FAMILY    RELIGION.  119 

come  when  I  shall  yet  see  them  converted  to  God." 
And  perhaps  all  this  while  there  is  no  systematic  course 
of  instruction  and  of  discipline  going  on  at  home,  so  that 
their  religious  character  is  left  to  whatever  contingencies 
may  arise.  Fatal  delusion !  False  reasoning !  Ruin- 
ous mistake  !  It  is  very  true  that  in  some  cases  conver- 
sion is  sudden,  but  this  is  such  a  perversion  of  the  fact 
as  involves  not  only  mistakes,  but  criminality.  If  it  is 
sudden,  how  do  such  parents  know  but  that  the  very  next 
efforts  M'hich  they  themselves  make  may  be  the  happy 
means  of  effecting  it ;  and  ought  they  not,  upon  their 
own  principle,  to  be  ever  laboring  for,  and  ever  expecting, 
the  blessed  result  1  The  fact  is,  it  means  nothing  less 
than  an  indolent  handing  over  of  the  religious  education 
of  their  children  to  school-masters,  to  ministers,  to  friends, 
to  whomsoever  will  undertake  it,  and  even  to  chance,  so 
as  they  may  be  rid  of  the  trouble.  A  parent  who  has 
right  views  of  his  relationship,  and  his  responsibility,  wiD 
say,  "  I  may  commit  the  general  education  of  my  children 
to  others,  but  not  their  religious  training.  This  is  too 
momentous  to  be  intrusted  out  of  my  own  hands.  Oth- 
ers may  be  ignorant,  negligent,  or  erroneous  :  I  must  see, 
therefore,  to  this  matter  myself.  I  cannot  transfer  my 
relation  or  my  responsibility,  and  I  will  not  transfer  my 
exertions.  God  will  require  my  children  at  my  hands, 
and  as  I  cannot  reckon  with  him  by  proxy,  so  I  will 
not  work  by  proxy.  And  I  will  endeavor,  by  God's 
grace,  to  form  their  religious  character  by  a  system  and 
a  course  of  moral  training,  and  not  look  for  it  as  a  sudden 
result  of  passing  incidents."  This  is  a  correct  view  of 
the  subject,  and  the  only  correct  one.  Sudden  conversions 
do  often  take  place  in  those  who  have  not  enjoyed  the 
advantages  of  a  religious  education,  but  rarely  in  those 
who  have.  In  the  latter  case  there  is  often  a  giudual 
change  of  character  and  conduct,  the  effect  of  good 
training,  which  issues  at  last  in  regeneration  ;  and  in 
some  few,  rare  instances,  of  the  conversion  to  God  of  the 
chiWren  of  judicious,  earnest  Christians,  the  change  has 
boen  so  gradual  as  to  be  scarcely  perceptible.  Were  all 
Ciirisilan  parents  to  act  in  the  same  way,  the  same  results 


120  EARNESTNESS   IN 

might  with  good  reason  he  expected,  and  dcmestic  edu 
cation  would  be  the  ordinary  means  of  conversion  for  the 
children  of  the  godly.  There  is  more  truth  in  the 
proverb,  even  as  regards  religioii,  than  many  persons  are 
disposed  to  allow,  "  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he 
should  go,  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from 
it."  This  does  not  insure  success  in  every  instance,  but 
it  warrants  the  eccpedation  of  it,  and  should  make  the 
want,  and  not  the  acquisition,  of  it,  matter  of  surprise. 
In  all  scriptural  means  of  conversion,  there  is  an  adapta- 
tion to  the  end  to  be  accomplished,  though  there  is  no 
necessary  connection  between  them,  and  were  right  means 
always  used,  efiiciency  would  more  frequently  be  the 
result  than  it  now  is.  This  is  especially  true  of  religions 
education.  Let  parents  give  up  all  dependence  upon 
teachers  and  ministers,  though  thankfully  availing  them- 
selves of  their  collateral  aid,  and  consider  t\\?it  they  are  the 
persons  to  be  looked  to  as  the  instruments  of  their  chil- 
dren's conversion  ;  and  at  the  same  time  let  them  aban- 
don the  expectation  of  sudden  conversions  by  contingent 
circumstances,  and  look  for  this  blessed  result  from  the 
grace  of  God  upon  a  system  of  instruction  and  discipline 
begun  early,  extending  through  everything,  and  carried 
on  with  judgment,  perseverance,  and  prayer,  and  then 
they  will  see,  much  more  frequently  than  they  now  do, 
the  happy  consequences  of  this  holy  training  of  the  youth- 
ful mind  for  God. 

A  second  mistake  in  religious  education  is  putting  off 
the  commencement  of  it  too  long.  Earnestness  means 
seizing  the  first  opportunity  that  occurs  for  doing  a  thing, 
and,  indeed,  a  looking  out,  and  waiting,  for  the  first  season 
of  action.  "  Begin  yourself,  begin  well,  and  begin  soon,*' 
are  the  maxims  of  common  sense,  which  apply  to  every- 
thing, and  especially  to  religion.  Evil  is  already  in  the 
heart  at  birth,  and  begins  to  grow  with  the  child's  mental 
gi'owth,  strengthens  with  his  strength,  and  must  be  resist- 
ed by  early  endeavors  to  root  it  out,  and  to  plant  and 
nourish  good.  Most  parents  begin  too  late.  They  have 
let  Satan  get  beforehand  with  them,  and  have  suffered 
corruption  to  grow  too  long  and  get  too  much  strength 


FAMILY   RELIGION.  121 

before  they  attack  it.  Half  the  failures  in  religious  edu- 
cation, yea,  a  far  greater  proportion,  may  be  traced  up  to 
this  cause.  Temper  can  be  disciphned,  conscience  may 
be  exercised,  subordination  may  be  inculcated,  and  the 
consequences  of  disobedience  felt,  long  before  the  child 
can  receive  what  might  be  called  religious  instruction. 

A  third  mistake  to  be  avoided  is  7naking  religious 
instruction  a  thing  by,  and  fcr,  itself,  and  not  sustaining 
it  by  other  things  which  are  related  to  it,  and  which 
have  considerable  influence  upon  it.  Earnestness  presses 
everything  into  its  service,  and  avoids  whatever  would 
defeat  its  end.  A  person  intent  upon  some  object  which 
is  considered  to  be  of  importance,  will  sustain  his  pur- 
suit of  it,  by  attending  to  whatever  will  aid  his  endeav- 
ors, and  will  carefully  watch  against  everything  w^hich 
would  impede  his  progress,  or  defeat  his  purpose.  It 
were  to  be  wished  that  Christian  parents  would  act  upon 
this  principle,  and  call  in  the  aid  of  whatever  could 
promote  their  one  great  object.  With  many,  it  is  to  be 
feared,  religious  education  is  nothing  more  than  a  mere 
patch  upon  a  system  of  training,  a  bit  sewed  on,  and  not 
an  integral  part  of  the  whole,  the  very  warp  of  the  tex- 
ture. For  instance,  they  will  teach  a  little  religion  occa- 
sionally, and  perhaps  frequently,  and  somewhat  seriously  ; 
but  all  this  while  will  take  no  pains  to  inculcate  obedience 
to  themselves,  to  discipline  the  temper,  to  cultivate  habits 
of  application,  to  produce  though tfulness,  kindness,  and 
general  good  behavior.  When  a  farmer  wishes  to  pro- 
duce a  good  crop,  he  not  only  prepares  the  ground,  and 
sows  good  seed,  but  he  takes  care  that  the  young  corn 
shall  enjoy  every  advantage  for  growth ;  and  knowing 
that  weeds  will  stifle  it,  and  drain  away  its  nourishment, 
and  keep  out  the  sun's  rays,  he  takes  care  to  clear  the 
ground  of  these.  So  it  is  with  the  earnest  parent ;  he 
not  only  communicates  religious  instruction,  and  thus 
sows  the  good  seed,  but  he  takes  care  to  keep  down  the 
weeds,  and  to  do  all  he  can  to  aid  the  growth  of  the  plant. 
Some  very  good  people  have  erred  here ;  they  have  taught, 
and  entreated,  and  prayed  ;  and  then  wondered  that  their 
children  do  not  become  truly  pious  ;  but  thsir  excessive 


122  EARNESTNESS   IN 

indulgence,  their  injudicious  fondness,  their  utter  neg- 
lect of  all  discipline,  the  relaxation  of  their  authority 
their  neglect  of  themselves  till  the  children  have  been 
taught  to  consider  that  they,  and  not  their  parents,  were 
the  most  important  personages  in  the  household,  might 
explain  to  them,  as  these  things  do  explain  to  others,  the 
cause  of  failure.  If  general  excellence  of  disposition 
and  character  be  not  cultivated  along  with  that  which  is 
specifically  religiou's,  the  latter  wiU  make  but  slow  and 
sickly  growth. 

The  last  mistake  in  religious  education  to  which  I 
shall  refer,  and  which  an  earnest  parent  must  avoid,  is 
the  confounding  instruction  with  education  ;  that  is, 
mistaking  a  part  for  the  whole  ;  the  means  for  the  end. 
What,  in  the  estimation  of  many,  is  rehgious  educa- 
tion? Nothing  more  than  the  communication  of  so 
much  religious  knowledge  —  a  little  Scripture,  a  few 
hymns,  or  a  catechism,  committed  to  memory.  Alas  I 
even  this  is  not  done  in  the  families  of  some  professors  ; 
and  I  have  heard  an  anxious  and  accomplished  president 
of  a  lady's  school  express  her  grief  and  astonishment  at 
the  deplt)rable  ignorance  of  the  very  elements  of  biblical 
knowledge  of  some  of  her  pupils  who  have  come  from 
the  families  of  professors  of  religion.  Some  of  the  chil- 
dren of  the  higher  classes  in  our  Sunday  schools  would 
put  to  the  blush  many  of  these  young  ladies  of  our  board- 
ing schools.  And  even  the  more  diligent  parents  are  but 
too  apt  to  stop  in  the  mere  communication  of  knowledge  ; 
but  this  is  not  education  in  the  more  comprehensive  sense 
of  the  word,  which  means  the  formation  of  character. 
And  from  the  same  quarter  as  I  have  just  mentioned,  I 
have  heard  a  most  emphatic  testunony  borne  to  the  anx- 
ious and  judicious  care  to  form  the  character  which 
appears  to  be  bestowed  at  home,  upon  their  children,  by 
that  respectable  body  of  professing  Christians,  called 
Quakers.  None  have  been  better  trained,  she  has  in- 
formed me,  than  those  who  have  come  to  her  from  such 
families.  There  is  a  habit  of  thoughtfulness,  by  no 
means  gloomy,  or  unaccompanied  with  cheerfulness  ;  a 
sense  of  propriety,  without  any  such  stiffness  as  is  gen 


FAMILY   RELIGION.  123 

eraljy  supposed  to  appertain  to  those  young  persons  ;  and 
a  respectful  submissiveness,  which  are  not  found  in  most 
others  ;  together  with  a  soundness  of  judgment,  which 
afford  admirable  specimens  of  good  domestic  training. 
The  fact  is  that  some  of  what  are  called  the  accomplish- 
ments of  fashionable  and  elegant  education  are  banished 
from  the  families  of  the  Quakers  to  make  way  for  the 
cultivation  of  the  mind  and  heart,  and  the  formation  of 
the  character.  There  may  be,  and  I  think  there  are, 
among  them,  omissions  which  I  should  supply  ;  but  for 
the  inculcation  of  habits  of  reflection,  good  sense,  general 
propriety  of  conduct,  orderliness  and  control  of  the  tem- 
per and  passions,  most  parents  may  take  a  les§on  from 
the  home  education  of  Quaker  children. 

Now  observe  the  conduct  of  earnest  parents.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  communication  of  knowledge,  they  admonish, 
entreat,  warn,  and  counsel.  They  direct  the  reading  of 
their  children,  and  watch  carefully  what  books  come  into 
their  hands.  They  analyze  their  character,  and  make 
themselves  intimately  acquainted  with  their  peculiarities 
of  disposition  and  tendencies,  that  they  may  know  how 
to  adapt  their  treatment  to  each.  They  encourage  habits 
of  subjection,  modesty,  reflection,  conscientiousness,  frank- 
ness, and  at  the  same  time,  respect  for  all,  especially  for 
themselves.  They  dwell  on  the  .pleasures  of  religion, 
and  the  miseries  of  sin.  They  repress  faults,  and  en- 
courage budding  excellences.  They  speak  to  them  of 
the  honor  and  happiness  of  good  men,  not  only  in  anothei 
world,  but  in  this.  They  endeavor  to  implant  the  fear  of 
God,  the  love  of  Christ,  the  desire  of  holiness,  in  their 
hearts.  Everything  is  done  to  render  religion  attractive, 
and  yet  to  exhibit  it  as  a  holy  and  an  awfhl  reality. 
They  watch  the  conduct,  look  out  for  matter  of  commen- 
dation and  of  censure.  In  short,  their  object  and  aim  are 
the  real,  right,  permanent  formation  of  the  rehgious  char- 
acter, the  character  of  the  genuine  Christian. 

Parents,  you  are  always  educating  yom-  children  for 
good  or  evil.  Not  only  by  what  you  say,  but  by  what 
you  do  ;  not  only  by  what  you  intend,  but  by  what  you 
are  :  you  yourself  are  one  constant  lesson,  which  many 


124  EARNESTNESS    IN 

eyes  are  observing,  and  which  many  hearts  receive  into 
itself.  Influence,  powder,  impulse,  are  ever  going  out 
from  you  :  take  care  then  how  you  act ! 

Let  me,  then,  here  remind  you  of  the  immense  impor- 
tance of  three  things  :  first.  Parental  Example.  What 
example  is  so  powerful  as  that  of  a  parent  ?  It  is  one  of 
the  first  things  which  a  child  observes ;  it  is  that  which  is 
most  constantly  before  his  eyes,  and  it  is  that  which  his 
yery  relationship  inclines  him  most  attentively  to  respect, 
and  most  assiduously  to  copy.  Every  act  of  parental 
kindness,  every  effort  to  please,  every  favor  conferred, 
softens  a  child's  heart  to  receive  the  impressions  which 
such  an  example  is  likely  to  stamp  upon  the  soul.  Vain, 
worse  than  useless,  is  that  instruction  which  is  not  fol- 
lowed up  by  example.  Good  advice,  when  not  illustrated 
by  good  conduct,  inspires  disgust.  There  are  multitudes 
of  parents  to  whom  we  would  deliberately  give  the  counsel 
never  to  say  one  syllable  to  their  children  on  the  subject 
of  religion,  unless  they  enforce  what  they  say  by  a  better 
example.  Silence  does  infinitely  less  mischief  than  the 
most  elaborate  instruction  which  is  all  counteracted  by 
inconsistent  conduct.  It  is  no  matter,  either  of  won- 
der or  regret,  that  some  professing  Christians  discon- 
tinue family  prayer.  How  can  they  act  the  part  of  a 
hypocrite  so  conspicuously  before  their  households,  as  to 
pray  in  the  evening,  when  every  action  of  the  day  has 
been  so  opposed  to  every  syllable  of  their  prayer  1  O, 
what  consistent  and  uniform  piety,  what  approaches  to 
perfection,  ought  there  to  be  in  him  who  places  himself 
twice  every  day  before  his  household,  at  the  family  altar, 
as  their  prophet,  priest,  and  intercessor  with  God !  It 
seems  to  me  as  if  the  holiest  and  best  of  us  were  scarcely 
holy  enough  to  sustain  the  parental  character,  and  dis- 
charge the  parental  functions.  It  would  seem  as  if  this 
were  a  post  for  which  we  could  be  fitted  only  by  being 
first  raised  to  the  condition  of  spirits  made  perfect,  and 
then  becoming  again  incarnate,  with  cele-stial  glory  beam- 
ing around  our  character.  What  an  additional  motive  is 
there  in  this  view  of  our  duty  for  cultivating,  with  a  more 
intense  earnestness,  the  spirit  of  personal  religion  ! 


FAMILY  RELIGION.  125 

Would  you  see  the  result  of  parental  misconduct,  look 
into  the  family  of  David.  Eminent  as  he  was  for  the 
spirit  of  devotion,  sweet  as  were  the  strains  which  flowed 
from  his  inspired  muse,  and  attached  as  he  was  to  the 
worship  of  the  sanctuary,  yet  what  foul  blots  rested  upon 
his  character,  and  what  dreadful  trials  did  he  endure  in 
his  family  !  What  profligate  creatures  were  his  sons  ! 
and  who  can  tell  how  much  the  apostacy  of  Solomon  was 
to  be  traced  up  to  the  recollection  of  parental  example ! 
Parents,  beware,  I  beseech  you,  how  you  act !  0  Ici 
your  children  see  religion  in  all  its  sincerity,  power, 
beauty,  and  loveliness  ;  and  this  may  win  them  to  Christ. 

But  there  is  another  thing  to  be  observed,  and  that  is 
the  mischief  of  excessive  indulgence.  Read  the  history 
of  Eli,  as  recorded  by  the  pen  of  inspiration.  The  hon- 
ors of  the  priesthood  and  of  the  magistracy  lighted  upon 
him.  He  was  beloved  and  respected  by  the  nation  whose 
affairs  he  administered,  and  to  all  appearance  seemed 
likely  to  finish  a  life  of  active  duty,  in  the  calm  repose 
of  an  honored  old  age.  But  the  evening  of  his  life,  at 
one  time  so  calm  and  so  bright,  became  suddenly  over- 
cast, and  a  storm  arose  which  burst  in  fury  upon  his  head, 
and  dashed  him  to  the  ground  by  its  dreadful  bolts. 
Whence  did  it  arise?  Let  the  words  of  the  historian 
declare:  "  I  have  told  him,  said  the  Lord,  that  I  will 
judge  his  house  forever  for  the  iniquity  which  he  know- 
eth,  because  his  sons  made  themselves  vile  and  he  re- 
strained them  not."  1  Sam.  iii.  13.  Poor  old  man  !  who 
can  fail  to  sympathize  with  him  under  the  terror  of  that 
dreadful  sentence,  which  crushed  his  dearest  hopes  and 
beclouded  all  his  prospects  1  but  the  sting,  the  venom  of 
the  sentence,  was  in  the  declaration  that  a  criminal  un- 
faithfulness on  his  part  had  brought  upon  his  beloved 
sons  ruin  both  temporal  and  eternal.  All  this  destruc- 
tion upon  his  children,  all  this  misery  upon  himself,  was 
the  consequence  of  weak  and  criminal  pares'<;al  indul- 
gence. Doubtless  this  began  while  they  were  yet  chil- 
dren ;  their  every  wish  and  every  whim  were  indulged, 
their  foolish  inclinations  were  gratified ;  he  could  never 
be  persuaded  that  any  germs  of  m  ilignant  passions  lurked 
11 


x26 


EARNESTNESS    IN 


under  appearances  so  playful  and  so  lovely  ;  he  smiled  at 
transgressions  on  which  he  ought  to  have  frowned  ;  and 
instead  of  endeavoring  kindly  but  firmly  to  eradicate  the 
first  indications  of  pride,  anger,  ambition,  deceit,  self- 
will,  and  stubbornness,  he  considered  they  were  but  the 
wild  flowers  of  spring,  which  would  die  of  themselves  as 
the  summer  advanced.  The  child  grew  in  this  hot-bed 
of  indulgence  into  the  boy  ;  the  boy  into  the  youth  ;  the 
youth  into  the  young  man  ;  till  habit  had  confirmed  the 
vices  of  the  child,  and  acquired  a  strength  which  not  only 
now  bid  defiance  to  parental  restraint,  but  laughed  it  to 
Bcorn.  Contemplate  the  poor  old  man  sitting  at  the  way- 
side upon  his  bench,  in  mute  despair,  his  heart  torn  with 
self-reproach ,  there  listening  with  sad  presages  for  tidings 
from  the  field  of  conflict.  At  length  the  messenger  ar- 
rives—  the  doleful  news  is  told.  The  ark  of  God  is 
taken,  and  Hophni  and  Phinehas  are  slain.  His  aged 
hSart  is  broken  —  and  he  and  his  whole  house  are 
crushed  at  once  under  that  one  sin,  the  excessive  weak- 
ness and  wickedness  of  a  false  and  foolish  parental  indul- 
gence.* 

Parents,  and  especially  mothers,  look  at  this  picture 
and  tremble  !  contemplate  this  sad  scene,  and  learn  the 
necessity  of  a  judicious,  aifectionate,  firm,  and  persever- 
ing discipline ! 

To  all  this  add  earnest,  believing,  and  persevering 
fTayer.  Let  family  devotion  be  maintained  with  regu- 
larity, variety,  aflfectionate  simplicity,  and  great  serious- 
ness. As  conducted  by  some,  it  is  calculated  rather  to 
disgust  than  to  delight.  It  is  so  hastily,  so  perfuncto- 
rily, and  so  carelessly  performed,  that  it  seems  rather  a 
mockery  than  a  solemnity ;  there  is  neither  seriousness 
nor  earnestness.  On  the  other  hand,  how  subduing  and 
how  melting  are  the  fervent  supplications  of  a  godly 
and  consistent  father,  when  his  voice,  tremulous  with 
emotion,  is  giving  utterance  to  the  desires  of  his  heart 
to  the  God  of  heaven,  for  the  children  bending  around 

*  There  is  a  beautiful  sermon  on  this  subject  by  Dr.  Leland, 
)f  Charleston,  in  the  "  American  Preacher." 


FAMILY    RELIGION.  127 

him !  Is  there,  out  of  heaven,  a  sight  more  deeply  inter- 
esting than  a  family  gathered  at  morning  or  evening 
prayer,  where  the  worship  is  what  it  ought  to  be? 
When  the  good  man  takes  the  "big  ha'  Bible,"  and 
with  patriarchal  grace  reads  to  his  househoil  the  words 
of  heavenly  truth"?  And  then  the  hymn  of  domestic 
gladness,  in  which  even  infants  learn  to  lisp  their  Maker's 
praise  ;  not  better  music  is  there  to  the  ears  of  Jehovah, 
in  the  seraphim's  song,  than  that  concord  of  sweet 
sounds ;  and  last  of  all  the  prayer  —  oh,  that  strain  of 
intercession  in  which  each  child  seems  to  hear  the  throb- 
bing of  a  father's  heart  for  him !  Ah,  when  this  is  the 
type  of  the  families  of  professors ;  when  family  religion 
is  conducted  after  this  fashion ;  when  the  spectator  of 
what  is  going  on  in  such  households  shall  be  compelled 
t5  say,  "  How  goodly  are  thy  tents,  O  Jacob,  and  thy 
tabernacles,  0  Israel !"  when  earnestness,  after  beginning 
in  the  soul  of  the  Christian,  shall  communicate  itself 
to  the  parent,  what  a  new  state  of  things  may  we  expect 
in  the  church  of  Christ ! 

In  my  volume  addressed  to  the  ministry  I  remarked 
that  the  conversion  of  the  children  of  the  pious  should 
be  looked  for  at  home,  and  from  the  blessing  of  God  on 
the  endeavors  of  Christian  parents.  And  this  is  quite 
true,  and  a  truth  which  cannot  be  put  forward  too  promi- 
nently, or  enforced  upon  public  attention  too  urgently.  I 
cannot  be  supposed  to  underrate  the  importance  of  the 
pulpit  nor  the  value  of  preaching  ;  but  it  is  possible  so 
to  exalt  this  order  of  means  as  to  depress,  if  not  to  dis- 
place, all  others.  God  never  intended  by  preaching  to 
subvert  or  set  aside  the  domestic  constitution,  or  to 
silence  the  voice  of  the  parental  teacher.  All  systems 
that  obtrude  any  one,  whether  priest,  preacher,  or  school- 
master, between  the  parent  and  his  child,  so  as  to  merge 
the  obligations  of  the  latter  in  the  functions  of  the  former, 
are  opposed  alike  to  nature  and  to  revelation.  God 
will  hold  every  parent  responsible  for  the  instruction  of 
his  children,  and  it  will  be  no  excuse  for  the  neglect, 
that  he  has  handed  them  over  to  another.  One  of  the 
earliest  and  most  certain  indications  of  a  revived  church 


128  EARNESTNESS    IN 

will  be,  the  marked  revival  of  domestic  religion.  What- 
ever stir  be  made  congregationally,  or  ministerially,  will 
still  leave  the  church  but  partially  awakened,  and  relig- 
ion but  negligently  attended  to,  till  the  families  of  the 
righteous  art  become  the  scenes  of  religious  concern 
and  of  spiritual  instruction.  The  canon  of  the  Old 
Testament  closes  with  these  remarkable  words,  "  And 
he  shall  turn  the  heart  of  the  fathers  to  the  children,  and 
the  heart  of  the  children  to  the  fathers,  lest  I  come  and 
smite  the  earth  with  a  curse."  Mai.  iv.  6.  Under  the 
Christian  dispensation  the  children  were  to  be  brought 
in  with  their  fathers,  and  through  their  instrumentality  ; 
and  whenever,  throughout  the  various  churches  of  Christ, 
we  shall  be  favored  to  see  those  who  sustain  the  rela- 
tion of  parents  intensely  earnest  for  the  salvation  of  their 
children,  and  adopting  all  proper  means  for  that  end,  then 
shall  we  see  the  blissful  sight  of  fathers  leading  their 
sons,  and  mothers  their  daughters,  and  bringing  their 
children  to  the  church  for  membership,  saying,  "  Behold, 
T  and  the  children  thou  hast  given  me."  Then  would 
the  families  of  the  saints  present  the  beautiful  scene, 
more  than  once  spoken  of  in  the  New  Testament,  of  a 
church  in  the  house. 

This  state  of  things  will,  perhaps,  in  some  measure, 
account  for  a  very  painful  fact,  which  both  parents  and 
ministers  attest  and  lament,  that  very  few  of  the  sons  of 
our  more  wealthy  members  become  truly  pious.  Many  of 
the  daughters  are  brought  under  the  influence  of  true 
piety,  and  come  into  our  fellowship,  but  comparatively 
few  of  the  sons.  I  am  aware  that,  as  a  general  fact,  far 
more  women  are  pious  than  men ;  but  the  disproportion 
.  is,  I  think,  still  greater  in  the  class  to  which  I  now  allude 
than  in  any  other.  Many  concurring  causes  will  account 
for  this.  Young  men  go  out  into  the  world,  and  are 
exposed  to  its  temptations,  while  the  daughters  remain 
at  home  under  the  sheltering  care  of  their  parents.  It 
requires  greater  moral  courage  in  a  ^ young  man  to 
profess  religion,  than  in  a  female.  Young  men  aie  more 
swallowed  up  in  b\isiness,  and  have  their  minds  more 
drawn  away  from  rehgion  by  this  means.     They  are 


FAMILY    RELIGION.  129 

more  exposed  to  the  influence  of  bad  companions,  and 
are  more  in  the  way  of  being  injured  by  scepticism  and 
heresy.  They  are  allured  to  out-of-door  recreations  and 
games,  which  lead  them  into  company.  And  from  the 
fact  of  a  large  proportion  of  pious  people  being  females, 
young  men  are  carried  away  with  the  shallow  and  flip- 
pant notion,  that  religion  is  a  matter  pertaining  to  the 
w*eaker  sex,  rather  than  to  them.  These  things  will 
account  for  the  fact  to  Vhich  I  now  allude,  which  is 
indeed  a  very  painful  one.  Our  churches  and  our  insti- 
tutions need  the  aid  of  pious  young  men  of  this  class. 
We  know  the  soul  of  a  female  is  as  precious  in  the 
sight  of  God  as  one  of  the  opposite  sex,  and  we  know 
how  valuable  are  female  influence  and  agency  in  all 
religious  matters ;  but  women  cannot  be  in  such  things 
a  substitute  for  men  ;  and,  therefore,  we  do  lament  that 
so  few  of  our  respectable  young  men  become  truly  pious. 
To  what  use  ought  this  painful  fact  to  be  turned,  and 
to  what  specific  eflbrts  should  it  give  rise  1  First  of  all 
it  should  lead  Christian  parents  to  pay  a  more  diligent 
and  anxious  attention  to  the  religious  education  of  their 
sons.  Daughters  must  not  be  neglected,  but  so7is  must 
have  special  pains  taken  with  them.  As  in  good  agricul- 
ture most  labor  is  bestowed  on  an  unproductive  soil,  to 
make  it  yield  a  crop,  so  in  this  religious  culture  of  the 
heart,  the  main  solicitude  should  be  directed  to  the  boys. 
Mothers,  I  beseech  you,  look  to  these,  and  from  the  very 
dawn  of  reason  exert  your  plastic  influence  over  theii 
more  sturdy  nature.  Be  anxious  for  your  sons  ;  think  of 
their  danger  and  their  difficulty.  Imagine  sometimes 
that  you  see  that  lovely  boy  a  future  prodigal,  lost  to 
himself,  to  his  parents,  to  the  church,  and  tf  society,  and 
yourself  dying  under  the  sorrows  of  a  he?  rt  broken  by 
his  misconduct ;  at  other  times,  look  upon  the  enraptur- 
ing picture  of  his  rising  up  to  be  a  minister  of  rehgion, 
or  the  deacon  of  a  church,  foremost  in  aiding  the  relig- 
ious institutions  of  the  day,  and  yielding  the  profits  of  a 
successful  business  to  the  cause  of  God  in  our  dark 
world.  Oh,  dedicate  that  boy  to  God,  with  all  the  ful- 
ness of  a  mother's  love,  both  for  him  and  for  his  Lord, 
11* 


130  EARNESTNESS    IN    FAMILY    RELIGION. 

and  pour  over  him  all  the  influences  of  a  mother's  judi- 
cious care  and  culture.  Fathers,  I  say  to  you,  also,  look 
well  to  your  sons ;  be  doubly  solicitous,  and  doubly 
laborious,  and  doubly  prayerful,  in  reference  to  them. 
Be  the  friend,  the  companion,  the  counsellor  of  your 
sons,  as  well  as  their  father.  Be  intensely  solicitous  to 
see  them  not  only  by  your  side  in  the  counting-house, 
or  the  warehouse,  but  in  the  church  of  Christ,  and  in 
the  transactions  of  our  religious'  societies. 

Mothers,  much  devolves  on  you.  Both  among  the 
rational  and  irrational  tribes,  the  first  training  of  the 
infant  race  belongs  to  her  that  gives  them  being,  and 
supports  them  ;  and  of  course  the  first  yearnings  of  affec- 
tion, and  ever  the  strongest,  are  to  her.  It  is  her  privi- 
lege, and  her  reward  for  pains,  and  privations,  and  labors^ 
all  her  own,  to  be  thus  rewarded  by  the  earliest  and  most 
earnest  aspirations  of  the  heart.  Avail  yourselves  of 
this  bhss,  and  the  influence  it  gives  you,  to  mould  the 
infant  heart  and  character  for  God.  Let  a  mother's 
vigilance,  and  care,'  and  affection,  all  be  most  earnestly 
consecrated  to  the  blessed  work  of  sowing  the  seeds  of 
piety  in  childhood's  heart,  and  thus  forming  the  young 
immortal.  Scarcely  a  character  of  eminence  has  ever 
appeared,  either  in  the  church  or  in  the  state,  but  con- 
fessed his  obligations  to  a  judicious  mother.  Pious 
mothers  have  done  more  to  people  heaven  than  any  other 
class  of  persons,  next  to  the  preachers  of  the  gospel ; 
and  even  the  usefulness  of  ministers  must  be  shared  with 
those  who  had  prepared  the  minds  of  their  converts  to 
receive  impressions  from  their  sermons.  Napoleon  once 
asked  Madam  Campan  what  the  French  nation  most 
wanted.  Her  reply  was  compressed  into  one  word  — 
"Mothers."  It  was  a  wise,  beautiful,  and  comprehen- 
sive answer.  Ask  me  what  the  church  of  God  wants 
next  to  earnest  ministers,  and  I  answer  —  intelligent ^ 
pious,  earnest  mothers. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

THE  ACTIVITY  OF  CHURCHES  IN  THEIR  COLLECTIVE  CA- 
PACITY ;  CR,  THE  DILIGENCE  OF  CHRISTIANS  CONSIIH 
ERED    AS   CHURCH    MEMBERS. 

The  word  church  is  now  used  in  its  limited  sense,  as 
restricted  to  one  assembly  or  congregation.  It  here 
means  a  regularly  organized  body,  meeting  with  its 
office-bearers  in  one  place  for  divine  worship.  And  we 
are  now,  therefore,  to  show  in  what  manner  the  earnest- 
ness of  such  a  community  is  to  show  itself. 

There  must,  of  course,  be  an  intelligent  and  pervading 
apprehension  amongst  its  members  of  its  design  as  being, 
next  to  its  own  eternal  well-being,  a  witness  for  God  in  the 
world,  and  his  instrument  for  spreading  the  truth.  Tliis 
ought  to  be  a  well  understood,  deeply  rooted,  and  con- 
stmtly  recognized  principle.  All  the  members  ought 
perpetually  and  conscientiously  to  bear  in  mind  this  their 
high  vocation,  as  a  testifying,  proselyting  body,  and  stir 
up  each  other's  minds  to  carry  out  this  their  sacred  and 
common  purpose.  They  must  not  allow  one  another  to 
forget  that,  as  a  part  of  the  universal  church,  they  are  a 
collective  and  embodied  testimony  to  the  existence,  na- 
ture, will,  and  works  of  God. 

To  this  must  be  added  a  consciousness  of  the  great 
spiritual  power  for  accomplishing  this  end,  which  is  con- 
tained in  a  church  of  Christ ;  a  power  of  which  it  ought 
to  be,  but  is  not,  duly  sensible.  There  is  moral  power 
in  truth,  in  example,  in  prayer,  m  exertion.  All  these 
combine  in  every  sincere,  consistent  Christian.  Each 
believer  in  Christ  is  an  instrument  of  great  power  in  our 
world,  or  has  great  power  in  himself.  He  has  a  greater 
force  of  character  than  he  has  ever  yet  put  for1h,  or  has 
kn^wn  himself  to  possess.     Think  what  one  Christian 


132  DILIGENCE    AS 

has,  in  some  extraordinary  cases,  achieved  !  What  an 
immense  power,  then,  must  there  be  in  a  church  con- 
sisting of  one,  three,  five,  or  seven  hundred  members ! 
Take  even  a  small  church  of  only  one  hundred,  and 
imagine  thdm  all  eminently  holy,  benevolent,  and  active, 
icattered  all  over  the  place  in  which  they  dwell,  each  a 
radiating  point  of  light  and  influence  in  the  neighborhood 
where  he  lives.  And  then  conceive  of  them  collecting 
together  periodically  in  their  church  relationship,  to  be 
seen  as  a  body  of  witnesses  for  God,  and  to  be  acted  upon 
by  ministerial  exercises  and  mutual  influence  ;  keeping 
each  other  up  to  the  standard  of  obligation  and  the  meas- 
ure of  duty.  Let  it  be  supposed  that  they  were  filled 
with  this  idea  of  spiritual  power  ;  that  they  assembled  in 
their  collective  capacity,  to  quicken  and  renew  it,  and 
then  dispersed  to  employ  it  in  their  several  locahties. 

There  must,  also,  be  a  deep  solicitude  in  each  church 
to  answer  the  end  of  its  formation,  both  in  reference  to 
its  own  internal  state  and  its  external  relations. 

The  active  operations  of  a  church  may  be  classed 
under  several  heads  :  the  first  class  includes  whatever 
appertains  to  its  own  welfare.  For  this  must,  of  course, 
take  precedence  of  all  other  duties.  It  is  only  as  it  is 
itself  in  a  good,  sound,  healthy,  and  working  condition, 
that  it  can  expect  to  be  of  any  service  to  others.  A 
state,  as  well  as  a  church,  must  be  strong  internally,  or 
it  can  have  no  power  to  be  beneficial  to  others. 

Every  member  of  every  community  is  supposed  to  feel, 
and  to  take,  a  deep  interest  in  its  welfare.  The  welfare 
of  the  whole  depends  upon  the  solicitous  endeavor  to 
promote  it,  on  the  part  of  its  individual  members.  There 
is  a  common  interest,  and  there  must  be  a  common 
activity  to  uphold  it.  Thus  must  it  be  with  all  church 
members  ;  they  must  have  an  earnest,  jealous,  and  ever- 
wakeful  solicitude  for  the  well-being  of  the  church  to 
which  they  belong.  They  are  not,  indeed,  to  cherish  an 
isolated,  selfish  spirit,  which  shuts  up  all  its  concern 
within  their  own  congregation,  but  this  is  to  be  the 
object  of  their  first  and  chief  anxiety.  It  is  then:  rehg- 
ious  home,  and  every  man's  concern  is  to  begin   with 


CHURCH    MEMBERS. 


133 


home.  It  is  not  enough  that  they  are  cordially  attached 
to  the  pastor,  and  take  an  interest  in  his  comfort  and 
usefulness  ;  they  must  also  feel  an  in^rest  in  the  church. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  many  of  our  members  almost 
drop  the  church,  and  confine  all  their  concern  to  the 
minister.  They  rarely  ever  attend  the  church-meetings, 
though  they  are  always,  or  usually,  present  in  the  sanc- 
tuary :  they  know  scarcely  any  of  their  fellow-members, 
and  take  little  interest  in  their  spiritual  welfare,  however 
intimate  they  are  with  the  pastor  :  they  are  well  pleased 
to  see  a  good  congregation  on  the  Sabbath,  though  they 
scarcely  ever  inquire  about  additions  to  the  church.  They 
are  like  the  inhabitants  of  a  country  who  have  a  personal 
attachment  to  the  sovereign,  but  take  no  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  the  nation.  Such  persons  are  not  actually  in 
fellowsbip,  for  they  feel  none  ;  their  names  are  upon  the 
church  books,  but  their  hearts  are  certainly  not  in  church 
communion.  There  is  no  earnestness  here.  No  broth- 
erly love  is  in  operation. 

A  church  should  endeavor  most  diligently  to  carry  out 
the  ends  of  fellowship,  which  are  mutual  love,  watchful- 
ness, and  helpfulness. 

Love  is  the  law  of  Christ's  kingdom,  the  badge  of  his 
subjects,  and  the  evidence  of  his  mission  ;  but  theie  is 
not  yet  exhibited  the  intensity  of  affection  among  church 
members  which  answers  this  design.  Brother-love  is 
yet  far  too  feeble  in  its  exercise.  The  church  is  sadly 
deficient  in  this  lovely  grace.  The  world  does  not  yet 
see  her  invested  with  this  heavenly  beauty,  and  therefore 
does  not  feel  her  power  as  it  would  otherwise  do.  When 
the  earnestness  of  love  shall  come,  when  they  who  look 
into  the  "spiritual  house"  shall  see  there  a  scene  of 
holy  activity,  and  all  the  assiduities  of  a  divine  friendship, 
they  will  begin  to  think  differently  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion from  what  they  now  do.  For  want  of  more  of  this 
love,  there  is  not  the  watchfulness  over  one  another 
there  should  be,  nor  the  disposition  to  bear  one  another's 
burdens.  We  are  brought  into  fePowship,  not  that  we 
might  act  as  spies  upon  each  other,  and  wait  for  a  broth- 
er's halting,  but  that  we  might  perform  with  the  tenderest 


134  DILIGENCE    AS 

affection  the  part  of  monitors,  and  prevent  each  other 
from  falling.  We  ought  to  feel  it  a  most  solemn  and 
sacred  duty  to  gatlier  the  stumbling-blocks  out  of  each 
other's  path,  and  prevent  as  far  as  possible  even  a  trip  in 
the  way  of  godliness.  Then  is  a  church  in  a  happy  state 
when  the  members  are  observed  watching  in  love,  with  a 
trembling  solicitude,  over  each  other's  welfare,  and  not 
sparing,  when  it  is  needed,  the  voice  of  friendly  warning, 
or  even  the  language  of  faithful  reproof.  Where  there 
is  love  there  will  also  be  assistance  ;  sympathy  in  afflic- 
tion, congratulation  in  prosperity,  relief  in  want,  counsel 
in  perplexity,  and  visits  in  distress.  What  a  lovely  scene 
would  be  presented  to  our  selfish  world,  if  the  church  of 
Christ  were  really  in  earnest  to  put  forth  in  its  conduct, 
as  it  is  bound  to  do,  "  the  charity  that  suffereth  long,  and 
is  kind ;  that  envieth  not,  vaunteth  not  itself,  is  not  puffed 
up  ;  that  doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly  ;  seeketh  not 
her  own  ;  is  not  easily  provoked  ;  thinketh  no  e\al ; 
rejoiceth  not  in  iniquity,  but  rejoiceth  in  the  truth  ;  bear- 
eth  all  things  ;  believeth  all  things  ;  hopeth  all  things  ; 
endureth  all  things."  Whatever  else  there  may  be, 
there  is  no  real  earnestness  where  there  is  no  prevaihng 
anxiety  thus  to  carry  out  the  ends  of  fellowship,  and  to  let 
the  world  "  see  how  these  Christians  love  one  another." 
1 .  One  of  the  first  duties  which  a  church  owes  to  itself, 
is  an  intelUgent,  firm,  and  charitable  zeal  for  the  principles 
on  which  it  is  founded,  both  doctrines,  and  also  such  as 
relate  to  ecclesiastical  polity.  After  what  has  been  said 
in  reference  to  the  former,  in  the  remarks  on  the  epistles 
to  the  seven  churches,  it  is  not  necessary  to  enlarge  upon 
it  here,  any  further  than  to  remark,  that  it  is  of  infinite 
importance  for  the  churches  to  hold  fast  "  the  form  of 
sound  words,"  and  not  to  be  carried  about  with  every 
\vind  of  false  doctrine,  by  which  the  spiritual  atmosphere 
is  so  frequently  disturbed.  Truth  is  the  food  of  piety, 
and  error  its  poison.  There  can  be  no  sound  spiritual 
health  apart  from  sound  doctrine.  And  yet  it  is  affecting 
to  perceive  how  lightly,  in  this  age  of  spurious  candor 
and  philosophic  taste,  of  diminished  spirituality  and  in- 
'.reased  worldliness,  some  of  the  fundamental  doctrines 


CHURCH    MEMBERS. 


135 


are  held,  and  how  easily  the  transfer  is  made  by  some 
professors  from,  one  set  of  opinions  to  another.  Let  the 
members  of  our  churches,  then,  look  vigilantly  after  each 
other,  and  sustain  each  other  in  the  profession  of  the 
faith.  Let  them  not  sacrifice  the  truth  tor  talent,  and  be 
content  with  whatever  deficiencies  may  exist  with  regard 
to  the  former,  provided  it  is  made  up  by  a  supply  of  the 
latter.  Nothing  can  be,  or  ought  to  be,  a  substitute  for  the 
evangelical  system.  Eloquent,  but  vague  generalities, 
which  would  suit  the  taste,  and  not  offeiid  the  prejudices, 
of  a  congregation  of  Unitarians  or  mere  theists,  should 
not  satisfy  an  orthodox  congregation  ;  and  let  them  be 
careful  how  they  choose  a  man  who,  even  in  his  proba- 
tionary sermons,  seems  to  have  come  from  Athens,  rather 
than  Jerusalem  ;  and  to  have  brought  them  the  enticing 
words  of  man's  wisdom,  instead  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
cross,  which  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation.  No 
brilliancy  of  genius,  no  fluency  of  speech,  no  power  of 
oratory,  should  reconcile  them  to  a  suspicion  of  error,  or 
even  deficiency  of  evangelical  truth.  The  life  and  vigor 
of  godliness  can  never  be  maintained  by  mere  talent,  in 
the  absence  of  sound  doctrine  :  and,  indeed,  the  greater 
the  talent  the  greater  the  danger,  especially  when  such 
talent  appears  not  only  in  alienation  from,  but  in  hostility 
to,  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  It  is  a  portentous  sign  for 
a  Christian  community,  when  it  can  be  satisfied  with 
mere  displays  of  talent  in  the  absence  of  scriptural  truth. 
Nor  is  it  about  doctrine  only  that  our  congregations 
should  be  in  earnest,  but  about  matters  of  polity  also. 
Church  government,  though  not  everything,  nor  the  most 
important  thing,  is  still  something,  and  a  great  thing  too. 
It  is  a  matter  deeply  affecting,  in  one  way  or  other,  not 
only  the  spirituality  of  Christ's  kingdom,  but  the  interests 
of  evangelical  religion  ;  it  is  a  help  or  a  hindrance,  accord- 
ingly as  it  is  conformed  or  opposed  to  the  model  set  up  in 
the  New  Testament ;  and  is  therefore  worthy  all  the  zeal, 
•  apart  however  from  the  bitternc^ss,  of  sectarianism,  which 
has  been  manifested  on  its  behalf.  To  reduce  to  nonen- 
tities, as  regards  value  and  importance,  the  question 
about  established  or  non-established  churches,  or  concern- 


136  DILIGENCE    AS 

ing  Episcopacy,  Presbyterianism,  and  Inaependency,  is  a 
spurioius  and  unauthorized  latitudinarianism,  as  remote 
from  a  due  regard  to  the  authority  of  Christ  in  his  word, 
on  the  one  hand,  as  a  bitter  and  venomous  sectarianism  is 
on  the  other.  If  Congregationalists  are  indifferent  to 
their  principles,  they  are  the  only  body  that  are  so.  The 
advocates  of  other  systems  leave  us  no  room  to  doubt 
of  their  earnestness,  nor  ought  we  to  leave  them  in  any 
doubt  of  ours.  The  principles  which  apostles  taught, 
which  reformers  revived,  and  for  which  martyrs  bled, 
ought  not  to  be  regarded  with  indifference  by  us.  If  they 
are  not  matters  of  conscience,  they  ought  to  be  abandoned, 
since  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  stand  in  a  state  of  sep- 
aration for  matters  of  mere  taste  or  feeling  ;  and  if  they 
are,  then  let  them  be  held,  as  all  matters  of  conscience 
ought  to  be,  with  a  grasp  that  relaxes  not  even  in  death 
itself.  If  important  to  us,  they  are  important  to  others, 
and  ought  to  be  propagated,  as  well  as  held.  Liberty  to 
hold  an  opinion  is  but  the  half  of  freedom,  unless  there 
be  liberty  to  diffuse  it.  What  I  plead  for  on  our  own 
behalf,  I  plead  for  on  behalf  of  all  others.  Only  let  us 
unsting  controversy  ;  only  let  us  speak  the  truth  in  love  ; 
only  let  us  controvert  as  brethren,  and  not  as  enemies  ; 
only  let  us  contend  for  truth,  not  for  victory  ;  only  let  us 
carry  on  our  contests  about  minor  matters,  with  the  recol- 
lection that  we  are  agreed  on  greater  ones  ;  only  let  us 
wrestle  for  church  polity  within  sight  of  the  cross,  which 
makes  us  all  one,  and  of  the  heaven  where  we  shall 
feel  as  one  ;  only  let  us  argue  and  expostulate  as  've 
should  with  a  brother  we  most  tenderly  loved,  alout 
something  he  held,  which  we  thought  was  doing  him  harm 
—  and  then  we  may  be  as  zealous  as  we  please  about 
church  government.  If  by  an  earnest  dissenter  be  meant, 
not  a  bigoted,  uncandid,  or  pugnacious  one,  but  an  intel- 
ligent preference  founded  on  conviction,  the  holding  fast 
ojf  his  opinions  without  any  compromise,  and  a  zeal  in 
spreading  tht  m,  which,  though  it  affects  no  neutrality, 
yet  neither  ivdates  the  courtesy  of  the  gentleman,  the 
calmneas  of  the  philosopher,  nor  the  charity  of  the  Chris- 


CHURCH    MEMBERS.  137 

tian  —  then  may  all  dissenters  be  thus  in  earnest,  yes, 
and  all  churchmen  too. 

2.  As  the  welfare  of  the  church  depends,  under  God's 
Idessing,  upon  the  labors  of  the  pastor  ;  and  as  the  ener- 
gy and  efficiency  of  his  labors  depend  upon  the  state  of 
his  own  mind,  it  is  indispensably  necessary  that  he  should 
be  kept  as  free  as  possible  from  all  solicitude  about  pecuni- 
ary matters.  There  are  few  matters  about  which  the  spirit 
of  liberality  in  this  age  has  been  less  conversant  or  less  anx- 
ious, than  the  adequate  and  comfortable  support  of  the  min- 
istry at  home  ;  and  as  a  consequence,  there  are  few  func- 
tionaries so  ni-supported  as  they  on  whom,  under  God,  the 
whole  cause  of  evangelization  depends.  Secretaries  of 
societies,  missionaries  to  the  heathen,  and  schoolmasrers, 
are  all  better  paid,  and  have  a  more  ample  provision  made 
for  their  comfort,  than  the  preachers  of  Christ's  blessed 
gospel.  Preached  sermons  are  the  cheapest  of  all  cheap 
things,  in  this  age  of  exceeding  cheapness.  And  yet 
what  invaluable  blessings  have  these  sermons  been  to 
multitudes  !  By  only  one  of  them,  in  many  cases,  persons 
have  been  converted  to  God,  and  enriched  with  eternal  sal- 
vation ;  many  have  been  relieved  of  burdens  of  care 
which  were  crushing  them  to  the  earth  ;  others  have 
been  rescued  from  a  temptation  which  would  have  ruined 
them  for  both  worlds  ;  and  myriads  have  been  delivered 
from  the  fear  of  death,  and  enabled  to  go  on  their  way 
rejoicing,  even  through  the  dark  valley  itself.  Yes,  by  a 
single  sermon  all  this  has  in  many  cases  been  accom- 
pjlshed.  What,  then,  shall  be  said  of  all  the  sermons  of  a 
whole  year,  or  a  whole  life  ?  Think  of  this,  and  say 
whether  a  payment  of  ten  shillings  or  a  pound  a  year,  is 
an  adequate  remuneration  to  the  man  who  consumes  hif 
life  in  study  and  in  labor  for  the  purpose  of  conferring 
such  benefits  as  these  1  Is  it  not  next  to  a  miracle  for  a 
man  to  be  all  energy,  activity,  and  earnestness,  in  his 
ministry,  whose  mind  is  bowed  down  with  solicitude  how 
to  provide  bread  for  his  family,  and  at  the  same  time  to  pro- 
vide also  for  things  honest  in  the  sight  of  all  men  ■?  Chris- 
tians, you  want  your  pastor  to  run  in  the  way  of  God's 
commandments  to  his  ministers ;  then  take  off,  by  youT 
12 


138  DILIGENCE    AS 

liberality,  the  burden  under  which  he  can  scarcely  ivalk  o 
stand.  You  complain  that  his  sermons  are  poor  and  mea- 
gre :  is  it  not  your  own  fault,  by  keeping  him  so  poor 
and  meag-re  in  his  wardrobe,  and  in  his  larder,  that 
the  time  which  should,  and  would,  have  been  spent  in 
study,  has  been  consumed  in  endeavoring  to  get  that 
bread  for  his  babes,  with  which  you  ought  to  have  sup- 
plied him  ?  If  we  would  have  earnest  churches,  I  know 
very  well  we  must  .^ave  earnest  ministers  ;  but  then,  if 
we  would  have  earnest  ministers,  we  must  have  liberal 
churches.  What  is  wanted,  is  a  provision  for  our  pas- 
tors which  shall  not  be  so  profuse  as  to  be  a  temptation  to 
luxurious  indolence,  and  yet  so  ample  as  to  raise  them 
above  anxiety. 

3.  If  it  be  incumbent  upon  a  church  to  provide  for  the 
comfort  of  a  pastor,  how  much  more  so  for  his  tisffnlness, 
by  improving,  enlarging,  or  rebuilding,  when  his  success 
requires  it,  the  house  in  which  he  ministers.  Happily, 
there  is  not,  in  the  present  day,  much  need  for  dilating- 
upon  this  subject.  One  of  the  delightful  features  of  this 
age  is  a  noble  spirit  of  liberal  activity,  at  which  our  fore- 
fathers, were  they  to  come  back  to  life,  would  be  aston- 
ished. The  voluntary  principle  is  doing-  wonders  in  this 
way,  within  the  pale  of  dissent,  and  far  g-reater  wonders 
beyond  it.  Under  its  potency,  inconvenient,  dilapidated, 
and  old-fashioned  buildings  have  given  place  to  modern, 
elegant,  and  commodious  edifices,  in  beautiful  symmetry 
with  the  improved  taste  of  the  day  ;  and  others  have 
sprung  up  where  there  were  none  before.  Parliamentary 
grants  have  been  found  to  be  unnecessary,  and  church 
rates,  extorted  by  force  and  paid  with  reluctance,  have 
been  in  many  places  superseded  by  a  spontaneous  liber- 
ality. Still,  it  is  not  in  every  congregation  we  witness 
this  g-enerous  activity,  and  churches  are  yet  to  be  found, 
where,  through  an  almost  superstitious  regard  for  the 
places  where  their  fathers  worshipped ,  the  present  congre- 
gation are  unwilling  to  touch  a  brick  or  a  plank,  and  are 
well-nigh  ready  to  let  the  roof  fall  in  and  bury  them,  out 
of  reverence  for  antiquity  ;  or  else,  out  of  niggardly 
regard  to  their  purse,  they  are  content  to  let  a  faithful 


CHURCH    MEMBERS.  139 

minister  who  has  ability  to  preach  to  a  crowd  who  are 
anxious  to  hear  him,  go  on  ministering  to  a  small  con- 
gregation, for  which  a  man  possessed  of  less  than  half 
liis  zeal  or  talent  might  suffice.  I  have  known  cases  that 
answer  to  both  these  hindrances  to  enlargements  and 
reerections,  where  the  predilections  for  the  antique  have 
stifled  the  nobler  predilections  for  the  useful,  and  the 
ghosts  of  departed  saints  have  been  evoked  to  pronounce 
it  sacrilege  to  demolish  the  pew  in  which  they  once  offered 
up  their  prayers  to  God  ;  whereas,  if  the  men  themselves 
could  have  been  really  there,  they  would  have  said,  — 
"  Down  with  it,  every  stone,  to  make  way  for  a  place 
where  more  souls  might  hear  the  gospel  and  be  converted 
to  God."  Wealthy  men  have  sometimes  opposed  the 
rebuilding  of  a  place  of  worship,  because  they  would  be 
expected  to  set  the  example  of  liberality,  and  give 
more  than  their  love  of  money  would  find  it  agreeable  to 
spare  ;  and  I  have  known  opposition  raised  by  poor, 
would-be  gentlemen,  because  they  could  not  give,  and  yet 
■.i-^d  not  the  courage  or  the  honesty  to  confess  their  pov- 
c!rty.  It  is  a  gratifying  spectacle,  and,  thanks  to  the  Giver 
of  all  grace,  not  unfrequently  witnessed,  to  see  a  church, 
not  perhaps  rich  in  this  world's  goods,  blessed  with  a 
pious,  zealous,  and  successful  ministry,  and  all  activity, 
lill  liberality,  all  earnestness,  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of  his 
usefulness  by  building  him  a  new  and  more  commodious 
place  of  worship.  I  have  been  the  witness  of  some  such 
C1.S3S,  which  are  as  much  beyond  the  belief,  as  of  the 
pr  ictice,  of  those  who  are  taught  by  system  to  rely  on 
I'l^  compulsion  of  law,  or  the  munificence  of  parliament, 
i'lr  their  places  of  divine  worship. 

4.  A  general,  regular,  and  punctual  attendance  upon 
all  tht  means  of  grace  is  essential  to  the  earnestness  of  a 
Christian  church.  There  is  a  wonderful  difference  in  this 
r-'spect  in  the  various  congregations  of  professing  Chris- 
tians. In  some  instances  you  will  see  the  heansrs  strag- 
gling along  with  a  dull  and  careless  look,  as  if  they  were 
going  to  an  unwelcome  service  ;  dropping  into  the  place 
of  worship  long  after  the  service  has  commenced  ;  looking 
round  with  vacant  stare  upon  the  congregation,  undevout 


140  DILIGENCE    AS 

and  listless,  as  if  they  were  there,  they  knew  nor  cared 
for  why  ;  the  seats  half  empty,  and  those  that  occupied 
them  seemingly  neither  expecting  nor  desiring  a  blessing 
from  above.  There  is  no  earnestness  there.  In  other 
cases,  how  diiferent !  you  will  observe  a  stream  of  people, 
just  before  the  hour  of  service,  flowing  into  the  place,  with 
a  serious,  thoughtful,  yet  cheerful  air,  as  if  they  knew 
what  they  were  going  for,  and  that  it  was  a  solemn,  yet 
gladsome  occasion.  They  take  their  seats  with  a  omw- 
posed,  collected,  devout  manner.  A  look  of  expectation 
is  in  their  eye,  which  is  first  cast  towards  the  pulpit,  as 
if  they  waited  for  the  preacher,  with  his  message  from 
God,  and  then  upward  to  that  God  who  alone  can  make 
the  message  eflfectual.  A  stranger  coming  in,  is  struck 
with  the  appearance  of  earnestness  that  pervades  the  con- 
gregation, and  almost  involuntarily  exclaims, —  "How 
dreadful  is  this  place  !  surely  this  is  the  house  of  God,  and 
the  gate  of  heaven."  Yes,  and  if  he  were  to  visit  that 
place  time  after  time,  he  would  see  the  same  scene  repeat- 
ed ;  the  same  seats  occupied  by  the  same  people,  and  in 
the  same  devout  manner.  The  earnest  hearer  is  the  con- 
stant hearer,  the  punctual  hearer,  the  devout  hearer. 
There  is  a  spirit  of  indolence,  self-indulgence,  and  mis- 
chievous negligence,  creeping  over  the  churches,  most 
fatal  to  fervent  devotion,  in  reference  even  to  the  Sabbath- 
day  attendance,  which  is  rising  out  of  the  modern  taste 
for  residing  in  the  country.  Yery  many  of  the  members 
of  our  rehgious  communities,  of  all  denominations,  go  but 
once  a  week  to  the  house  of  God  ;  and  this  is  on  a  Sab- 
bath morning.  All  the  resl  of  the  holy  day  is  spent  in 
idleness,  perhaps  feasting  and  lounging  over  the  wine 
through  the  afternoon,  turning  over  the  pages  of  a  mag- 
azine, with  little  devotion,  and  with  no  profit,  in  the 
evening.  If  these  persons  were  in  their  closets,  studying 
the  Word  of  God,  engaged  in  self-examination  and 
prayer,  mortifying  their  corruptions,  and  invigorating 
their  graces,  we  should  think  less  of  it  —  but  is  this  their 
oceupation  ?  I  fear  this  love  of  ease  is  eating  out  the  piety 
of  our  churches,  and  gradually  turning  the  Sabbath  into 
a  day  of  luxurious  repose,  instead  of  Christian  devotion 


CHURCH    MEMBERS.  141 

Modern  tastes  are  sadly  at  war  with  modem  piety.  It 
seems  as  if  many  of  the  professing  Christians  of  the  day 
were  trying-  with  how  httle  attendance  upon  the  ordi- 
nances of  pubhc  worship,  how  httle  of  self-denial,  and 
how  little  a  public  manifestation  of  their  religion,  they 
could  satisfy  their  conscience  —  and,  alas!  how  very 
little  that  is ! 

But  this  is  not  all  —  earnestness  is  displayed  more  com- 
monly by  the  week-day  attendance  than  the  Sabbath 
congregations.  A  professor  of  religion  who  has  the 
least  regard  for  his  reputation  must  be  at  public  worship 
once  on  the  Lord's  day,  but  he  has  no  great  reason,  as 
things  exist,  to  fear  for  his  religious  reputation,  at  least 
in  the  estimation  of  many  of  his  fellow-Christians,  who 
are  too  much  like  him,  though  he  is  never  present  at  a 
week-day  service.  Tbere  is  a  phenomenon  in  my  own 
church  which  I  scarcely  know  how  to  explain  ;  I  mean 
that  the  attendance  upon  weekly  services  does  not  in- 
crease with  the  augmentation  of  the  church.  I  am  not 
sure  that  we  have  more  at  a  prayer  meeting  now,  than 
we  had  when  the  church  was  only  half  its  present  num- 
ber ;  and  I  observe  that  it  is  pretty  nearly  the  same  peo- 
ple who  attend  every  time.  This  looks  as  if  there  were 
a  great  number  of  our  members  who  have  no  sense  of 
obligation  to  attend  such  services.  But  can  we  really 
consider  those  who  habitually  neglect  them  to  be  very 
lively  Christians,  or  in  any  way  advancing  in  the  divine 
life,  unless,  indeed,  there  be  any  special  and  sufficient 
reasons  for  their  absence  1  Earnestness  manifests  itself 
in  the  way  of  laborious  effort,  a  willingness  to  make  sac- 
rifices, and  a  disposition  to  endure  self-denial ;  and  if  it 
characterized  the  religion  of  a  church,  it  would  display 
itself  in  a  willingness  to  put  ourselves  to  some  little  per- 
sonal inconvenience  to  attend  the  services  of  the  week- 
days, as  well  as  the  Sabbath-days. 

5.  There  ought  to  be  a  cordial  cooperation  with  the 
pastor  in  all  his  labors  for  the  salvation  of  souls.  He 
must  be  sustained  in  his  endeavors  to  draw  people  to  hear 
the  gospel.  The  plan  of  District  Visiting  Societies, 
rtuopted  of  late  years  by  the  evangelical  portior  of  the 
12* 


142  DILIGENCE    AS 

clergy  of  the  Church  of  England,  is  an  admirable  one, 
by  which  Christian  and  matronly  ladies  go  round  to  the 
habitations  of  the  poor,  relieving  their  temporal  necessi- 
ties, distrib':ting  religious  tracts,  selling  Bibles,  and  urg- 
ing the  people  to  attend  church.  How  can  female  influ- 
ence be  better  employed  1  That  there  may  b6  a  little 
Church-of-Englandism,  a  little  dread  of  dissenters,  mixed 
up  with  this  zeal,  is  very  probable  :  but  let  dissenters  then 
imitate  the  plan  —  let  the  ladies  of  their  congregations 
commence  similar  efforts  —  let  the?n  form  visiting  societies 
to  assist  their  pastors  —  let  them  go  to  those  who  attend 
no  place  of  worship,  and  persuade  them  to  come  and  hear 
their  minister.  It  would  be  highly  improper  to  tempt 
persons  who  already  hear  the  gospel,  to  leave  their  own 
pastor,  to  come  to  theirs  ;  but  if  they  find  people  who  go 
nowhere,  and  belong  to  nobody,  let  them  not  scruple  to 
induce  them  to  come  to  their  own  place  of  worship. 
There  need  be  no  delicacy,  no  scruple,  no  fastidiousness, 
here.  Every  pious  churchman  will  allow,  it  is  better 
these  people  should  attend  among  dissenters,  or  method- 
ists,  than  nowhere.  There  is  no  room  for  jealousy  in 
these  matters,  while  there  are  such  millions  in  our  coun- 
try, who  never  go  to  public  worship  at  all,  and  who,  in- 
deed, if  all  of  them  were  disposed  to  do  so,  could  not 
find  sufficient  places  to  receive  them.  If  every  congre- 
gation were  really  bent  upon  filling  its  place  of  worship, 
and  were  not  to  leave  it  all  to  their  minister,  they  would 
soon  accomplish  the  object,  and  be  astonished  to  see  what 
crowds  could  be  gathered.  Yet  how  many  of  our  hear- 
ers are  there  who  will  go  on  complaining  for  years  that 
their  minister  does  not  draw  a  congregation  to  hear  him. 
while  all  this  time  they  have  never  attempted  to  bring 
one  single  individual  to  listen  to  his  sermons !  What  an 
immediate  effect  would  be  produced,  if  fifty  earnest  per- 
sons, or  even  ten,  were  to  turn  out,  on  a  Sunday  after- 
noon, to  visit  the  streets,  alleys,  and  courts  in  the  vicinity 
of  a  place  of  worship,  with  a  view  to  bnng  into  it  the 
persons  who,  in  its  very  shadow,  are  neglecting  to  attend 
the  house  of  God,  to  urge  them  to  keep  holy  the  Sabbath, 
and  to  seek  tS*  e  salvat  m  of  their  immortal  souls  I     Wo 


CHURCH    MEMBEllS.  143 

can  never  denominate  a  body  of  Christians  an  earnest 
church  till  it  is  roused  to  make  such  efforts  as  these  ;  and 
till  its  members,  such  of  them,  at  any  rate,  as  have  leis- 
ure, are  thus  exerting  themselves  to  compel  the  neglect- 
ers  of  public  worship  to  come  in,  that  God's  house  might 
be  full.  There  are  some  persons  who  are  not  satisfied 
\%-ith  net  helping  their  pastors,  but  who  actually  hinder 
them  in  their  schemes  for  doing  good.  I  know  a  min-is- 
ter,  who,  as  his  galleries  and  other  parts  of  the  chapel 
appropriated  to  the  poor  were  not  occupied  as  he  wished  5 
commenced  an  admirable  course  of  sermons  addressed  to 
the  laboring  classes,  with  the  special  design  of  drawing 
their  attention  to  his  place  of  worship,  and  thus  filling  up 
the  vacant  seats.  By  many  of  the  congregation,  who 
entered  into  his  views,  and  were  anxious  for  his  useful- 
ness, the  plan  was  approved  ;  but  it  will  scarcely  be  cred- 
ited, that  by  others  it  was  disapproved  of,  and  resented, 
because  it  took  away  from  them  an  ordinary  sermon, 
which  they  deemed  more  appropriate  to  themselves,  than 
an  address  to  the  laboring  classes. 

A  man  of  powerful  eloquence  and  splendid  talents 
will,  by  God's  blessing  upon  his  labors,  raise  a  congre- 
gation anywhere,  without  much  cooperation  on  the  part 
of  the  people  ;  but  such  men  are  rare,  and  are  not  every 
day  to  be  met  with.  Yet,  without  these  qualifications,  a 
man  of  good  abilities,  ardent  piety,  and  great  diligence, 
will  also,  by  God's  blessing,  do  anywhere,  if  he  be  sus- 
tained by  the  cooperation  of  a  thoroughly  working  church. 
And  it  becomes  our  churches  to  recollect  that  such  is  now 
the  competition  of  the  different  denominations,  and  such 
especially  the  activity  and  energy  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, that  where  the  congregation  is  new,  or  small,  or 
diminished,  there  is  little  hope  of  its  being  raised  to  any- 
thing like  strength  or  stature,  without  the  efforts  of  the 
whole  body ;  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  if  these  efforts 
are  made,  there  is  no  ground  for  despair. 

An  earnest  church,  then,  is  one  that  is  in  such  a  state 
of  activity  as  to  be  denominated  a  thoroughly  working 
church.  Its  members  will  appear  to  be  animated  by  one 
spirit,  like  the  bees  of  a  hive,  all  busy,  each  in  his  own 


144  DILIGENCE    AS 

department,  and  all  adding  to  the  common  st.ck.  In  a 
community  of  this  description,  there  will  be  a  place  fo- 
everybody,  and  everybody  will  know  and  keep  his  place 
Care  should  of  course  be  taken  by  the  pastor  in  receiving 
members  to  impress  upon  them  the  noble  idea,  that  a 
desire  and  an  effort  to  be  useful  is  a  part  of  religion  ;  and 
he  should  also  endeavor  to  asce-tain  the  talents,  capabil- 
ities, and  tastes  for  usefulness,  of  all  whom  he  admits, 
and  then  assign  to  each  his  prof  or  place  and  appropriate 
labor.  Over  the  portals  of  eve  y  church  should  be  this 
inscription,  "Let  no  one  enter  here  who  is  not  deter- 
mined to  be  holy  and  useful." 

In  our  large  churches,  an  assistant  minister,  if  not,  a  co- 
pastor,  is  very  desirable,  and  is  becoming  more  and  more 
necessary,  in  consequence  of  the  increased  energy  of  the 
clergy  of  the  Church  of  England.  Our  single-handed  pas- 
tors can  never,  in  matters  out  of  the  pulpit,  cope  with 
those  who  have  one,  two,  or  three  curates  employed  under 
them.  I  am  aware,  that  the  Episcopal  clergy  have  a  mass 
of  laborious  duty,  in  the  way  of  baptisms,  marriages,  vis- 
itation of  the  sick,  and  burials,  which,  except  in  a  com- 
paratively small  amount,  does  not  devolve  upon  us ;  but 
even  in  this  our  mitigated  pressure  the  sick  are  too  much 
neglected,  inquirers  overlooked,  and  the  young  left  to 
themselves.  The  pulpit  cannot,  must  not,  be  neglected  ; 
and  yet  how  can  this  be  duly  regarded,  and  pastoral 
claims,  with  demands  for  public  business,  and  the  in- 
creased correspondence  brought  upon  us  by  the  penny 
postage,  be  attended  to  by  any  one  man,  however  quick 
in  the  despatch  of  business,  without  assistance?  We 
want  help,  and  we  must  have  it.  or  much  of  our  work 
will  be  ill  done,  and  much  more  left  altogether  undone. 
I  do  not  forget  the  difficulties  which  present  themselves  ; 
first  of  all  on  the  ground  of  expense,  and  secondly  on 
account  of  the  probability  of  disagreement  between  the 
two  ministers.  To  obviate  the  first  of  these  is  in  the 
power,  and  ought  to  be  in  the  will,  of  our  people  ;  and 
to  meet  the  second,  it  might  be  well  for  the  settled  pastor 
to  have  the  sole  right  of  engaging  and  of  dismissing  the 
assistant,  so  as  to  be  able  at  any  time  to  stop  incipient 


CHURCH    MEMBERS.  145 

mischief.  It  must  be  remembered,  I  am  net  now  speak- 
ing of  a  co-pastor  ;  when  this  is  determined  upon,  it 
must  be  by  the  church,  both  as  to  the  time  when  it  is  to 
be  done,  and  the  individual  who  is  to  be  elected  :  but  an 
assistant  is  %  different  matter,  though  even  with  refer- 
ence to  him,  care  should  be  taken,  by  the  pastor,  espe- 
cially if  the  assistant  is  to  take  a  part  in  pulpit  labors,  to 
select  such  an  one  as  would  be  acceptable  to  the  people. 
The  reluctance  of  some  of  our  pastors  to  adopt  this  plan, 
I  know  is  very  great,  from  the  hazard  which  it  brings  to 
the  peace  of  the  church.  I  am  very  well  aware  there  is 
some  danger  of  this,  for  it  has  come  under  my  own  ob- 
servation to  see  the  jars  and  discords  of  two  ministers,  not 
only  among  ourselves  as  dissenters,  but  also  in  the  Church 
of  England.  In  the  latter  case,  I  admit,  the  risk  is  less, 
Dn  account  of  the  exclusion  of  the  suffrages,  power,  and 
influence  of  the  people  ;  and  this  difliculty,  in  our  case, 
it  appears  to  me,  would  be  in  some  measure  obviated  by 
allowing  the  pastor  to  select  and  dismiss  his  own  assist- 
ant. Would  it  not  be  for  the  advantage  of  our  young 
preachers,  on  leaving  college,  to  finish  their  education  for 
the  pastorate  under  an  experienced  and  successful  minis- 
ter ?  Time  would  thus  be  given  to  them  to  carry  on 
their  studies,  and  opportunity  afforded  to  acquire  a  famil- 
iarity with  the  details  of  pastoral  duties.  This  may  be 
better  than  co-pastorships,  except  in  those  cases  where 
an  aged  minister  would  gladly  aid  in  choosing  his  succes- 
sor, and  would  thus  have  a  good  opportunity  for  doing  it. 
Next  to  this,  the  deacons  should  be  looked  to  for 
much  more  efficient  assistance  than  they  are  in  the  habit 
of  rendering.  I  allow  that  the  original  appointment  of 
these  ^'ent  no  further  than  for  the  care  of  the  poor  ;  but 
the  customs  of  our  churches  have  thrown  many  other 
things  into  their  hands.  These,  or  some  other  spiritual 
and  experienced  persons,  should  be  found  to  help  the 
pastor  in  the  spiritual,  more  private,  and  individual 
duties  of  his  office  —  such  as  conversing  with  inquirers, 
comforting  the  distressfed,  and  guiding  the  perplexed. 
Unhappily  our  deacons  are  usually  men  much  immersed 
in  business,  and  who  have  little  time  for  anything  but 


146  DILIGENCE    AS 

their  own  concerns ;  and  more  than  this,  some  of  then, 
are  men  much  called  out  for  the  business  of  the  town  in 
which  they  live.  But  considering  how  solemn  and 
responsible  a  thing  it  is  to  bear  office  in  the  church  of 
Christ,  and  how  momentous  a  community  the  church  of 
Christ  is,  they  ought  either  to  resign  their  office  as  dea- 
cons, if  they  cannot  discharge  its  duties,  or  else  withdraw 
their  attention  from  public  business.  A  deacon,  next  to 
the  pastor,  should  be  the  most  earnest  member  of  the 
church.  He  should  be  all  energy  and  devotedness, 
breathing  by  his  words,  and  inspiring  by  his  conduct,  a 
spirit  of  love  and  activity  into  the  souls  of  his  fellow- 
members.  He  should  be  ardent,  without  being  rash  — 
active,  without  being  obtrusive  or  officious  —  taking  the 
lead  not  merely  by  choice,  but  by  request  —  stirring  up 
the  liberality  of  the  church  by  being  first  in  all  pecuniary 
exertions,  and  setting  others  on  fire  by  the  warmth  of 
his  own  zeal.  He  should  be  his  minister's  counsellor, 
without  being  his  dictator  ;  his  comforter,  without  being 
his  flatterer  ;  his  helper,  without  being  his  master :  and 
his  friend,  without  being  his  partisan. 

Still,  as  we  cannot  in  all  cases  expect  so  much  as  this, 
or  find  all  we  could  wish  in  deacons,  there  might  be 
found  in  most  of  our  churches  a  few  spiritual  and  judi- 
cious persons  who  would  be  of  essential  service  in  the 
way  of  teaching  some  of  our  inquirers  and  young  con- 
verts "  the  way  of  God  more  perfectly."  It  is  painful 
to  think  how  much  religious  impression  is  allowed  to  pass 
away,  and  how  many  deep  and  pungent  convictions  to  be 
extinguished,  for  want  of  their  being  watched  and  cher- 
ished. There  are  many  persons  who  would  gladly 
avail  themselves  of  the  assistance  of  a  kind-hearted,  able, 
and  wilhng  instructor,  guide,  and  comforter,  though  he 
were  not  an  official.  It  is  perfectly  clear  to  any  attentive 
student  of  the  New  Testament,  that  there  was  much 
more  of  division  of  labor  in  the  primitive  churches  than 
there  is  in  ours.  If  we  refer  to  Rom.  xii.  7,  we  find 
mention  made  of"  ministering,''  "  teaching,"  "  exhorta- 
tion," "ruling;"  and  it  woulu  seem  as  if  these  func- 
tions were  severally  discharged  by  different  persons.     So 


CHURCH    MEMBERS.  147 

again  in  1  Cor,  xii.  28,  we  read  of  "  governments," 
and  "  helps,"  as  of  something  distinct  from  '*  teachers." 
The  meaning  of  the  word  "  helps  "  is  of  very  wide  lati- 
tude, and  as  no  hint  whatever  is  given  as  to  its  precise 
apphcation  in  this  instance,  we  cannot  determine  to  what 
function  it  refers.  It  was  not  probably  a  designation  of 
an  office  in  the  usual  acceptation  of  that  word,  but  merely 
a  description  of  persons  whose  zeal  and  ability  rendered 
them  of  great  use  in  a  variety  of  ways  to  the  regular 
officers  of  the  church.  Why  have  we  not  more  of  these 
"  helps"  now?  — we  certainly  need  them.  And  if  we 
do  not  think  it  proper  to  revive  the  supposititious  office  of 
deaconesses,  why  may  we  not  have  a  band  of  matronly 
females,  eminent  at  once  for  their  piety  and  prudence 
who  shall  be  employed,  without  the  formalities  of  office, 
but  under  appointment  by  the  pastor  and  deacons,  to 
visit  the  sick  members  of  their  own  sex,  and  to  aid  in 
the  way  of  Bible  classes,  the  instruction  of  the  young 
female  inquirers.  Perhaps  the  blame  lies  in  the  pas 
tors,  that  more  collateral  help  of  this  kind  is  not  obtained 
and  employed.  We  are  not  wise  in  our  generation,  by 
not  finding  out,  and  calling  out,  the  help  which  must  be 
contained  in  every  large  congregation.  I  never  will  or 
can  believe  that  among  those  hundreds  of  enlightened 
minds,  and  renewed  hearts,  which  are  in  our  churches, 
there  are  not  many  who  could,  in  various  ways,  be  our 
assistants,  and  who  would  not  rejoice  on  being  solicited 
to  give  us  their  help. 

A  SECOND  class  of  obligations  and  duties,  in  the  way 
of  active  operations,  which  devolve  upon  a  Christian  com- 
munity, are  such  as  appertain  to  the  neighborhood  in 
whicli  it  is  placed.  Every  church  is  to  be  a  "  light  ol 
the  world,"  and  the  "  salt  of  the  earth,"  in  reference  to 
its  own  locality.  It  is  to  seek  to  exemplify  this  beauti- 
ftil  language  of  Jehovah,  by  the  prophet,  "  I  will  make 
them  and  the  places  round  about  my  hill  a  blessing ;  I 
will  cause  the  shower  to  come  down  in  his  season ; 
there  shall  be  showers  of  blessing."     Ezek.  xxxiv.  26. 

It  is  now  a  universal  custom  for  every  congregation  to 
have  its  Sunday  school :  this  is  considered  so  necessary 


148  DILIGENCE    AS 

an  adjunct  that  the  congregation  can  scarcely  be  supposed 
to  exist  without  it ;  and  an  earnest  church  will  be  earnest 
in  its  support  of  this  kind  of  agency,  which  is  so  neces- 
sary for  the  wants  of  the  people,  and  the  morals  and 
religion  of  the  nation.  And  yet  how  few  churches,  as 
such,  and  their  pastors,  take  that  lively  interest  in  them 
which  they  ought.  How  common  is  it  to  leave  the 
whole  school  to  its  own  self-management,  which  is,  in 
many  cases,  to  leave  it  to  the  direction  of  a  few  boys 
and  girls,  who  in  general  are  but  slenderly  qualified 
even  to  be  led,  much  less  to  be  leaders.  It  is  affecting 
to  consider  how  these  valuable  institutions  are  often 
managed,  or  rather  m?5managed.  Not  unfrequently 
have  they  punished  both  pastor  and  church  that  have  neg- 
lected them,  by  becoming  seats  of  disaffection  to  the  one, 
and  means  of  division  to  the  other.  Lefl  to  themselves, 
the  teachers  have  formed  a  fourth  estate,  which  has 
perplexed,  if  not  overawed,  the  other  three  ;  and  yet, 
after  all,  they  have  been  less  to  blame  than  the  pastor, 
who  thought  them  of  too  little  consequence  to  be  taken 
under  his  patronage,  till  their  importance  was  felt  in  the 
way  of  mischief.  A  Sunday  school  is  not  so  much  a 
part  of  the  congregation,  as  another  congregation  by 
itself,  and  is  well  deserving  of  the  devoted  attention  of 
both  the  pastor  and  his  flock.  It  were  a  thing  to  be 
greatly  desired  that  none  but  truly  pious  members  of  the 
church  should  be  employed  as  teachers,  and  of  them 
none  but  the  wisest  and  the  best ;  and  it  often  appears 
for  a  wonder  and  a  lamentation,  that  such  an  opportunity 
of  doing  good  should  be  put  aside  by  so  many  persons 
who  see  it  constantly  within  their  reach. 

It  is  of  immense  consequence  that  to  every  Sunday 
school  there  should  be  the  appendage  of  a  Bible  class  for 
the  senior  boys  and  girls,  into  which  the  children  should 
be  introduced  when  they  are  too  old  to  remain  in  the 
ordinary  classes..  The  question  has  often  been  asked, 
what  is  the  best  plan  for  the  treatment  of  the  children 
who  are  of  an  age  to  leave  the  school  ?  What  ?  Strange 
that  such  a  question  should  be  asked  !  The  answer, 
lowever,  is  at  hand  ;  form  Bible  classes,  to  be  superin- 


CHURCH    MEMBERS.  149 

tended  by  some  pious,  judicious,  and  devoted  persons, 
vvlio  shall  give  their  hearts  to  the  work,  and  who,  with 
scriptural  instruction,  shall  combine  a  devoted  and  assid- 
uous attention  to  the  formation  of  their  general  and 
religious  character.  I  can  speak  from  experience  in 
recommending  this  scheme.  We  have  long  had  such 
classes  in  our  school,  and  blessed  have  been  the  results. 
It  has  been  our  felicity  to  have  had  ladies,  and  gentle- 
men too,  who  have  given  their  time  and  labor  to  this 
work,  and  whose  reward  and  happiness  it  is  to  see  as 
members  of  the  church,  and  as  respectable  members  of 
society,  many  who  were  once  under  their  care.  One  of 
the  deacons  of  my  church,  a  gentleman,  whose  mildness, 
intelligence  and  firmness,  eminently  qualified  him  for 
this  work,  was  long  engaged  in  it,  and  lately  acknowl- 
edged to  me  that  he  believed  he  was  never  so  useful  as 
when  he  was  thus  engaged.  Surely  all  our  churches 
contain  persons  qualified  for  such  employment,  and  could 
any  object  more  gratifying  to  a  holy  ambition ,  more  inter- 
esting to  a  benevolent  heart,  or  more  fascinating  to  a 
sanctified  imagination,  be  presented,  than  such  an  occu- 
pation 1  There  can  be  little  earnestness,  indeed,  if  such 
agency  be  wanting. 

It  is  not  Sunday  schools  alone  that  our  churches  must 
take  up,  but  daily  and  infant  schools ;  the  former  must 
not  be  neglected,  so  neither  must  they  be  substitutes  for 
the  latter.  The  cry  of  education  is  raised  in  our 
country,  and  a  noble  cry  it  is.  It  is  heard  in  the  cabi- 
net and  in  the  senate  —  in  the  pulpit  and  on  the  platform 
—  in  the  crowded  city  and  in  the  sequestered  village. 
The  press,  in  every  department,  and  by  every  means,  is 
keeping  up  the  subject,  and  filling  the  land  with  the 
echoes  of  that  mighty  word,  "  Education  !  Education  !" 
Christians  should  be  the  last  to  let  the  sound  die  away  ; 
they  must  be  foremost  in  pouring  light  and  life  over  the 
dark  masses  of  our  ignorant  population,  and  let  it  be 
seen  that  their  religion  hates  darkness.  Every  church 
must  have  its  day  school,  and  be  considered  behind  its 
age,  and  lamentably  defective  in  its  apparatus  0/  instruc- 
tion and  reformation,  if  there  be  no  portion  of  the  popu- 
13 


150  DILIGENCE    AS 

latior.  under  its  general  and  moral  training.  Let  a  con- 
gregation neglecting  this  be  looked  at  with  wonder  and 
reproach,  as  if  it  knew  not  the  signs  of  the  times,  or 
heard  not  the  call  of  God  and  its  country  to  supplant  the 
crimes  and  curses  of  ignorance  and  vice,  by  the  virtues 
and  the  blessings  of  a  sound  education.  In  the  glorious 
rivalry  that  is  stirred  up  among  all  denominations  for  the 
education  of  the  people,  let  each  and  every  church  con- 
sider itself  deficient  in  earnestness  if  it  has  no  share  in 
the  honor  of  a  nation's  education.  The  people  7nust  be 
educated  —  ought  to  be  educated  —  will  he  educated,  and 
let  us  all  contend  who  shall  best  and  most  effectually  do 
the  work. 

Again,  I  observe,  every  working  church  will  also  have 
its  Religious  Tract  Society,  and  thus  call  in  the  aid  of 
the  press  to  counteract  the  mischief  which  the  press,  by 
another  kind  of  publications,  already  mentioned  in  a  pre- 
vious chapter,  is  continually  doing.  This  is  a  means  of 
doing  good  which  requires  so  small  a  capital,  either  for 
setting  it  up,  or  keeping  it  up,  that  no  community  of 
Christians,  however  small  or  however  poor,  can  make  or 
find  an  excuse  for  neglecting  it.  If  only  a  pound  a  yeai 
could  be  raised,  it  would  enable  a  few  warm  hearted 
Christians  to  do  much  spiritual  good  :  with  even  tha 
Umited  amount  of  small  arms,  these  spiritual  guerillc 
parties  might  do  some  execution  in  the  holy  war.  It  is 
painful  to  think  how  much  this  cheap  and  easy  method 
of  doing  good  is  neglected,  and  even  where  it  is  not 
altogether  neglected,  how  much  it  is  left  in  the  hands  of 
those  who,  as  regards  some  of  them,  are  least  fit  for  it. 
Where  are  our  men  of  influence,  and  our  females  of 
standing  in  society,  and  what  are  they  about  ?  Is  it  a 
work  Ijeneath  their  dignity,  to  carry  the  message  of  salva- 
tion into  the  cottages  of  the  poor,  and  to  scatter  amidst 
the  abodes  of  ignorance,  vice,  and  misery,  those  leaves 
of  the  tree  of  Hfe  which  are  for  the  healing  of  the  na- 
tions ?  Would  it  degrade  them  to  go  and  read  such  a 
narrative,  for  instance,  as  that  of  "  Poor  Joseph,"  in  the 
dark  and  dreary  habitation,  where  inmates  as  ignorant 
aj;id  as  simple  as  he  might  be  found,  and  who,  like  him, 


CHURCH    MEMBERS.  151 

might  be  induced,  and  by  God's  Spirit  enabled,  tc  credit 
the  "faithful  saying,  that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the 
worid  to  save  sinners  V  Sliall  the  sons  and  daughteiB 
of  wealth  leave  the  hymn  of  the  widow's  joyful  heart, 
and  the  V/lessing  of  him  that  was  ready  to  perish,  to  be 
the  portion  and  bliss  of  the  poor  only]  Why,  O  why 
do  not  all  who  have  no  family  claims  upon  their  attention, 
go  forth,  on  a  Sabbath  afternoon,  with  these  messengers 
of  mercy,  into  the  scenes  of  ignorance,  vice  and  misery, 
which  are  in  the  vicinity  of  their  own  dwellings,  and 
thus  encounter  the  prince  of  darkness  in  his  own  battle- 
field, and  fight  him  with  weapons  in  size  and  shape  like 
those  with  which  he  is  slaying  the  souls  of  men  ? 

In  addition  to  this,  how  many  could,  in  our  warfare, 
like  artillery-men,  manage  what  might  be  called  the  great 
guns  of  Scripture,  as  Readers  of  the  Word  of  God  ! 
Suppose  every  church  had  a  Scripture- Reading  Society, 
formed  of  young  or  older  men,  or  both,  who  would  sally 
forth  with  the  Bible,  and  obtain  houses  where  they  might 
be  permitted  to  sit  down,  and  read  to  the  family  alone,  or 
to  others  also  that  might  be  gathered  in  for  the  purpose. 
We  ask  not,  in  this  case,  for  preachers,  but  simply  for 
readers ;  an  office  for  which  nothing  is  wanted  but  a 
capacity  to  enunciate  in  an  articulate  and  distinct  manner 
'•  the  true  sayings  of  God."  This  is  a  means  of  use- 
fulness which  almost  every  one  could  command  ;  and  it 
is  no  feeble  one  either.  God's  word  is  as  fire,  and  as  a 
hammer  that  breaketh  the  rock  in  pieces.  A  single 
passage  lighting  on  the  judgment,  heart,  and  conscience, 
alight  be  the  power  of  God  unto  the  salvation  of  the  soul. 
Let  us  have  faith  in  our  Bibles,  and  believe  that  they  are 
instruments  adapted  for  their  end.  We  must  raise  the 
Bible  in  public  estimation  :  and  what  could  more  efifect- 
ually  do  this  than  to  go  and  read  it  to  the  people  ?  How 
would  it  impress  them  with  the  value  and  importance  of 
this  precious  vulume,  if  they  saw  gentlemen  and  ladies 
ever  coming  to  their  habitations  for  the  express  purpose 
of  reading  to  them  its  contents  !  The  plan  of  hired  per- 
sons, who  shall  devote  their  whole  time  to  this  work,  is 
an  admirable  scheme,  now  much  in  vogue  both  in  Ireland 


152  DILIGENCE    AMf 

and  also  among  the  evangelical  clergy  in  this  country,* 
and  will  be  productive,  no  doubt,  of  much  good.  But  in 
one  respect  the  unhired  and  unpaid  services  of  persons 
who  would  give  themselves  to  this  labor,  would  be  likely 
to  produce  a  still  deeper  impression  upon  the  minds  of 
the  laboring  population,  than  stipendiary  agents.  .  Here 
vvould  be  no  suspicion  of  sectarianism,  no  supposition  that 
it  w^as  undertaken  by  the  agents  as  a  means  of  livelihood, 
but  there  w^ould  be  a  deep  conviction  of  the  generosity 
and  kindness  which  could  undertake  such  a  labor,  with 
no  other  fee  or  rew^ard  but  that  which  is  bestowed  by  the 
testimony  of  conscience,  the  approbation  of  God,  and  the 
gratitude  of  the  objects.  How  is  it  so  simple  and  so 
admirable  a  plan  has  not  been  more  generally  adopted  ? 
Just  because  it  has  not  been  brought  forward  into  notice- 
by  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  suggest  plans,  means,  and 
motives  to  the  people  for  doing  good,  I  mean  their  spirit 
ual  guides  and  instructors.  Why  might  not  every  pasto- 
have  a  band  of  these  Scripture  readers  under  his  training 
selecting  for  them  week  by  week  the  portions  which  the] 
might  read  to  the  people,  and  illustrating  these  portion; 
by  such  remarks  as  the  readers  might  understand,  remem 
ber,  and  repeat  to  those  whom  they  visit? 

Thirdly.  There  are  duties  which  the  churches  ow 
to  the  country  at  large  in  the  way  of  its  more  perfec 
evangelization.  All  the  remarks  on  religious  patriotism 
made  in  a  former  chapter  on  individual  etfort  for  the  cop 
version  of  souls,  apply  with  equal  force  here.  I  cannot, 
nor  is  it  necessary  I  should,  enter  into  a  minute  specifica- 
tion of  all  the  various  societies  so  happily  multiplied  ixi 
tliis  active  age,  to  meet  the  various  objects  of  Christian 


*  Among-  the  latter  this  scheme  is  become,  and  very  deservedly, 
a  gre;U  favorite.  The  Rev.  J.  C.  Miller,  tlie  rector  of  St.  Mai-- 
tin's,  ill  Birmingham,  has  lately  addressed  to  his  parishioners  a 
heart- stirring  appeal,  entitled  "A  few  anxiou.s  words,"  to  ex- 
cite their  zeal  and  liberality  in  supporting  this  plan,  by  raising 
for  him  a  fund  to  employ  four  readers  in  his  parish  ;  and  I  believe 
that  from  the  high  and  deserved  esteem  in  which  he  is  held,  this 
indefatigable  Christian  pastor  will  be  supplied  with  aU  he  asks 
for. 


CHURCH    MEMBERS.  1-53 

compassion  and  religious  zea!  ;  such  as  the  British  Mis- 
sions for  England,  Ireland,  and  the  Colonies,  the  Society 
for  the  Conversion  of  the.  Jews,  the  Seaman's  Friend 
Society,  the  Religious  Tract  Society,  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society. 

Although  I  would  not  abstract  either  time,  attention, 
or  money,  from  our  foreign  missions,  and  our  labors  for 
the  conversion  of  the  heathen,  yet  I  would  have  more  of  all 
these  given  to  home.  To  talk  of  abandoning  the  whole 
heathen  and  Mahomedan  world  till  this  country  is  per- 
fectly evangelized,  is  preposterous,  and  is  usually  the 
slang  of  those  who  do  very  little  for  either  ;  as  it  will  be 
found  by  an  appeal  to  facts,  that  those  who  are  most 
zealous  in  sending  the  gospel  abroad,  are  the  very  men 
who  are  most  active  in'  spreading  it  at  home.  Still,  it 
must  be  admitted  that  our  own  country  has  been  too 
much  neglected.  Our  own  population  are  in  a  deplorable 
condition  as  to  morals,  and  religion,  and  education  also  j 
and  it  Avould  be  Quixotic,  indeed,  to  seek  the  conversion 
of  Chinese,  Hottentots,  and  Polynesians,  while  our  own 
neighbors  were  left  to  perish.  To  leave  our  homestead  in 
an  ill  condition,  and  att'end  only  to  the  extremities  of  the 
farm,  is  certainly  not  good  husbandry.  This  is  starting 
from  the  end,  instead  of  the  beginning.  The  order  of 
benevolence  is  from  particulars  to  generals,  and  from 
what  is  proximate  to  what  is  remote  ;  and  this  rule  should 
be  observed  in  part,  though  not  rigidly,  in  the  present 
case.  In  addition  to  the  claims  which  our  country  gives- 
us  as  ours,  and  as  more  under  our  influence  than  foreign 
lands,  we  should  recollect  that  all  we  do  for  home  is,  inj 
an  indirect  manner,  something  done  for  other  lands.  By- 
spreading  religion  here,  we  are  raising  friends  and  funds 
for  foreign  missions.  Our  churches  and  schools,  as  fast 
as  they  are  formed,  are  pressed  in  as  auxiliaries  to  the^ 
missionary  societies.  No  church,  therefore,  car  under- 
stand its  duties,  or  be  exerting  the  proper  influence  which 
belongs  to  it,  that  is  not  zealous  in  supporting  all  institu- 
tions that  have  the  more  perfect  evangelization  of  our 
own  CO .  ntry  for  their  object.  China,  India,  and  all  other 
heathen  countries,  must  be,  so  to  speak,  converted  in- 
13* 


154  DILIGENCE    AS 

Britain,  by  multiplying  here  the  instruments  and  means 
for  converting  them  abroad. 

FouRTriLY.  There  are  also  the  operaticiis  to  be  carried 
on  for  the  conversion  of  the  Avorld,  in  support  of  our  vast 
missionary  schemes.  This  ought  to  be  considered  as  the 
vocition  of  the  church,  the  full  and  final  development  of 
hei  energies,  and  that  for  which  she  ought  to  prepare 
he]  self  by  all  her  other  engagements.  I  know  not  that 
I  could  give  a  more  beautiful  exemplification  of  the  spirit 
which  ought  to  pervade  our  churches  on  this  subj'eet, 
than  that  which  occurs  in  the  life  of  Baxter.  Towards 
the  close  of  his  holy  and  useful  life,  he  set  himself  to 
review  his  history,  to  compare  his  t|ien  present  with  his 
former  self,  and  to  record  the  changes  which  time,  reflec- 
tion, observation,  and  experience  had  made  in  his  views, 
feelings,  and  conduct.  Among  many  other  most  instruc- 
tive things  we  find  the  following  :  — 

"  My  soul  is  much  more  afflicted  with  the  thoughts  of 
the  miserable  world,  and  more  drawn  out  in  desire  for 
their  conversion,  than  heretofore.  I  was  wont  to  look  but 
little  further  than  England  in  my  prayers,  as  not  consider- 
ing the  state  of  the  rest  of  the  world  ;  or  if  I  prayed  for 
the  conversion  of  the  Jews,  that  was  almost  all.  But 
now,  as  I  better  understand  the  case  of  the  world,  and 
tlie  method  of  our  Lord's  prayer,  so  there  is  nothing 
in  the  world  that  lieth  so  heavy  upon  my  heart,  as  the 
thought  of  the  miserable  nations  of  the  earth.  It  is  the 
most  astonishing  part  of  all  God's  providence  to  me,  that 
he  so  far  forsaketh  almost  all  the  world,  and  confineth 
his  special  favors  to  so  few  ;  that  so  small  a  part  of  the 
world  hath  the  profession  of  Christianity,  in  comparison 
with  heathens,  Mohammedans,  and  other  infidels  !  And 
that  among  professing  Christians  there  are  so  few  that 
are  saved  from  gross  delusions,  and  have  but  any  compe- 
tent knowledge  ;  and  that  so  few  are  seriously  religious, 
and  truly  set  their  hearts  on  heaven.  I  cannot  be  affected 
so  much  with  the  calamities  of  my  own  relations,  or  the 
land  of  my  nativity,  as  with  the  case  of  the  Heathen, 
Mohammedan,  and  ignorant  nations  of  the  earth.  No  part 
of  my  prayer  is  so  deeply  serious,  as  that  for  the  conver- 


CilURCH    MEMBERS.  155 

eion  of  the  infidel  and  ungodly  world,  that  God's  name 
may  be  sanctified,  and  his  kingdom  come,  and  his  will 
be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven  ;  nor  was  I  ever  so 
sensible  before,  what  a  plague  the  division  of  languages 
is,  which  hindereth  our  speaking  to  them  for  their  con- 
version ;  nor  what  a  great  sin  tyranny  is,  which  keepeth 
out  the  gospel  from  most  of  the  nations  of  the  world. 
Could  we  but  go  among  Tartarians,  Turks,  and  heathens, 
and  speak  their  language,  I  should  be  but  little  troubled 
for  the  silencing  of  eighteen  hundred  ministers  at  once, 
in  England,  nor  for  all  the  rest  that  were  cast  out  here, 
and  in  Scotland,  and  in  Ireland  ;  there  being  no  employ- 
ment in  the  world  so  desirable,  in  my  eyes,  as  to  labor 
for  the  winning  of  such  miserable  souls  ;  which  maketh 
me  greatly  honor  Mr.  John  Eliot,  the  apostle  of  the  In- 
dians in  New  England,  and  whoever  else  have  labored 
in  such  a  work." 

Such  were  the  holy  effusions  poured  forth  in  his  soli- 
tude by  this  holy  and  eminent  man,  when  looking  at 
things  in  the  light  of  an  opening  heaven  and  a  coming 
eternity,  a  situation  so  favorable  to  the  clear  and  vivid 
perception  of  divine  truth.  I  know  not  where  to  look, 
among  all  modern  missionary  sermons  or  speeches,  for 
anything  more  eloquent,  more  touching,  or  more  in- 
structive than  this.  Baxter  lived  in  an  age  when  no 
missionary  societies  existed,  and  when  he  could  only 
lament  the  condition  of  the  heathen  world,  and  pray  for 
their  conversion  ;  and  oh,  how  intense  were  his  feelings, 
how  fervent  his  prayers  !  Could  he  have  prophetically 
anticipated  the  scenes  of  our  May  meetings,  in  what  rap- 
turous strains  would  he  have  congratulated  the  blessed 
generation  who  were  honored  to  bear  a  part  in  such 
transactions;  and  yet,  of  that  generation,  with  all  their 
activity,  how  few  are  there  whose  zeal  can  compare  with 
his  for  purity  or  ardor  !  Which  of  us,  in  our  most  devoted 
seasons,  can  emulate  the  deep  emotion  of  these  affecting 
paragraphs  ?  Baxter  was  now  silenced  from  his  beloved 
work  of  preaching  the  gospel,  by  that  rancorous  and  re- 
lentless spirit  of  persecution  which  had  arraigned,  con- 
demned, and   imprisoned  him  as  a  culprit ;  and  yet  to 


156  DILIGENCE    AS 

hear  Mm  say,  in  such  circumstances,  that  he  was  not  so 
affected  by  his  own  sufferings,  or  the  sufferings  of  his 
relatives,  and  his  country,  a?  by  the  condition  of  the 
heathen  !  To  hear  him  say  that  he  should  not  regret  the 
silencing  of  two  thousand  witnesses  for  God  in  these 
realms,  if  they  could  but  go  and  bear  their  testimony  in 
foreign  lands  !  To  hear  him  mourning  over  tyranny,  not 
because  it  robbed  him  of  his  rights  and  immured  him  in 
a  jail,  but  because  it  shut  out  the  gospel  from  perishing 
souls  !  Oh  where  shall  we  find  anything  like  this  in  all 
the  most  heroic  and  self-denying  instances  of  missionary 
zeal  in  the  day  or  the  country  in  which  we  live  ?  Friends 
of  missions,  see  here  a  pattern,  at  once  to  instruct, 
reprove,  and  stimulate  you.  Here  \b  individual  zeal  — 
no  waiting  for  others ;  closet  zeal  —  no  mere  platform 
stimulus  ;  fray  erf ul  zeal  —  no  self-sufficient  activity  ; 
serious  zeal  —  no  levity,  no  frivolity,  no  laughter-loving 
interest ;  self-denying  zeal,  manifested  in  a  willingness 
to  surrender  the  dearest  rights  of  humanity,  so  that  the 
gospel  could  be  preached  to  the  heathen  —  no  putting  off 
the  cause  with  the  mere  parings  of  his  comforts  ;  and  all 
this  founded  upon  an  intelligent  and  considerate  acquaint- 
ance with  the  condition  of  its  object.  Then,  when  such 
a  zeal  as  this  pervades  our  churches  —  when  each  Chris- 
tian apart,  and  each  family  apart,  shall  take  up  the  sub- 
ject on  such  ground,  and  with  such  solicitude  as  this  — 
when  the  missionary  fire  is  thus  kept  burning  upon  the 
altar  of  our  hearts,  fed  by  meditation  and  fanned  by 
prayer —  when  our  trials  press  not  so  heavily  upon  us  as 
the  miseries  of  the  heathen  —  when  liberty  seems  chiefly 
precious  because  it  gives  us  an  opportunity  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  the  heathen  —  and  when  even  literature  is 
valuable  most  of  all  because  it  aids  us  in  translating  and 
preaching  the  Word  of  God  — then  w'hen  the  great  mis- 
ery is  an  unconverted  world,  and  the  great  desideratum 
is  a  converted  one  —  then  will  the  Spirit  be  poured  out 
from  on  high,  and  the  world,  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of 
the  church,  be  converted  to  Christ. 

The  present  organization  of  the  missionary  societies  is 
the  best,  perhaps,  th?*    the  circumstances  of  our  times 


CHURCH    MEMBERS.  157 

allow,  and  deserves  the  support  of  all  the  friends  of  the 
Redeemer  and  his  cause,  till  God  shall  show  unto  us 
"  a  more  excellent  way."  That  he  will  do  so,  I  have 
little  doubt.  We  are  only  in  the  childhood  of  our  mis- 
sionary growth,  and  shall  lay  aside,  when  we  have 
reached  our  manhood,  much  that  we  are  now  doing,  as 
the  childish  things  of  our  early  years.  More  of  God, 
and  less  of  man,  will  appear.  The  churches  of  Ciirist 
will  then,  probably,  themselves  be  the  missionary  socie- 
ties of  the  day,  instead  of  one  vast,  and  to  a  certain  extent 
unvvieldly  organization,  embracing  a  whole  denomination. 
Missionaries  will  go  out  as  members,  representatives,  and 
messengers  of  these  bodies  of  Christians  at  home  ;  and 
much  of  the  machinery  of  our  present  social  arrange- 
ments will  be  laid  a^de  as  cumbersome  and  artificial,  for 
a  mode  of  operation  characterized  by  the  simplicity  of 
primitive  times.  This,  however,  must  be  left  for  Divine 
Providence  to  accomplish,  who  will,  no  doubt,  verify  in 
this  instance,  as  well  as  in  every  other,  the  truth  of  that 
sublime  declaration,  "  My  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts, 
neither  are  your  ways  ray  ways,  saith  the  Lord.  For  as 
the  heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  my  ways 
higher  than  your  ways,  and  my  thoughts  than  your 
thoughts." 

What  the  churches  have  now  to  do,  is  to  go  on  with 
increased  zeal,  liberality,  and  prayer,  in  the  great  work 
of  sustaining  their  respective  societies,  which  are  labor 
ing,  and  not  without  the  token  of  God's  blessing,  for  the 
conversion  of  the  world. 

I  may  devote  a  few  remarks  here  on  two  points  a& 
strictly  appropriate  to  the  subject  of  this  chapter  —  female 
agency  and  public  collections. 

With  regard  to  the  first  of  these  I  confess  that  while  I 
do  not  wish  to  dispense  with  it  altogether,  for  this  is  not 
possible,  and  if  it  were,  would  not  be  right,  I  feel  jealous 
lest  it  should  in  any  measure  impair  that  retiringness  of 
manner,  that  unaffected  reserve,  that  modesty  of  demean- 
or, and  that  delight  in  home,  which  are  wonaan's  chief 
loveliness,  and  the  fascination  of  her  charms.  Should 
the  modern  practice  of  employing  females  so  extensively 


158  DILIGENCE    AS 

in  OUT  religious  institutions,  make  them  bold,  obtrusive, 
and  fon^  of  publicity,  it  would  be  corruptino-  society  at 
its  source,  by  spoiling  them  for  wives  and  mothers,  how- 
ever it  might  fit  them  to  be  the  instruments  of  benevolent '' 
organizations.  Whatever  impairs  the  beauty,  or  dimin- 
ishes the  strength,  of  the  home  virtues,  though  it  may 
aid  the  operations  of  public  institutions,  is  radically  mis- 
chievous, and  cannot  be  compensated  by  any  benefit 
which  could  be  procured,  of  any  kind,  or  for  any  object. 
It  is  always  revolting  to  my  sense  of  propriety  to  see  a 
young  girl  of  sixteen  or  eighteen,  pacing  a  street,  knock- 
ing at  door  after  door,  entering  shops,  offices,  and  count- 
ing-houses, and  addressing  herself  in  the  character  of  a 
beggar,  to  any  one,  and  to  every  one,  not  excepting  young 
men.  Such  things  are  not  unknown,  perhaps  not  un- 
common. Ministers  should  be  very  careful  how  they 
employ  young  females,  and  take  especial  care,  when  it 
cannot  be  avoided,  to  exert  all  their  influence  to  repress 
a  spirit  of  levity  and  folly,  and  the  least  approach  to  im- 
propriety ;  and  diffuse  an  air  of  seriousness  and  gravity 
over  all  that  is  done  in  this  way,  and  by  such  agents. 
Judicious  mothers  will  be  much  upon  the  alert  in  exercis- 
ing a  salutary  vigilance  over  their  daughters,  and  resist 
every  attempt  to  engage  them  in  services  which  may 
have  the  least  tendency  to  despoil  them  of  their  modesty, 
simplicity,  and  love  of  home. 

The  following  appropriate  remarks  are  from  an  article 
in  the  Quarterly  Review,  on  "  The  Life  of  Mrs.  Fry." 
"  The  high  and  holy  duties  assigned  to  woman  by  the 
decrees  of  Providence  are  essentially  of  a  secret  and 
retiring  nature  :  it  is  in  the  privacy  of  the  closet  that  the 
soft,  yet  sterling  wisdom  of  the  Christian  mother  stamps 
those  impressions  on  the  youthful  heart,  which,  though 
often  defaced,  are  seldom  wholly  obliterated.  Whatever 
tends  to  draw  her  from  these  sacred  offices,  or  even  abate 
their  full  force  and  efficacy,  is  high  treason  against  the 
hopes  of  a  nation.  We  do  not  deny  that  valuable  ser- 
vices may  be  safely,  and  are  safely,  rendered  by  many 
intelligent  and  pious  ladies,  who  devote  their  hours  of 
leisure  and  recreation  to  the  Raratongas  and  Tahitis  of 


CHURCH    MEMBERS.  159 

Bri.ish  Christendom  —  it  is  not  to  such  we  would  make 
allusion  ;  our  thoughts  are  directed  to  that  total  absorp- 
tion which,  plunging  women  into  the  vortex  of  eccentric 
and  self-imposed  obligations,  merges  the  private  in  the 
public  duty,  confounds  what  is  principal  with  that  vi'hich 
is  secondary,  and  withdraws  them  from  labors  which 
they  alone  can  accomplish,  to  those  in  which  they  can  at 
Jeast  be  equalled  by  others." 

Considerable  care  should  also  be  taken,  when  it  is 
vhought  proper  to  employ  the  agency  of  children  in  collect- 
mg  money  by  cards  or  otherwise,  that  no  injury  be  done  to 
their  young  minds  in  destroying  that  humility,  simplicity, 
and  arllessness,  which  are  the  ornament  of  childhood, 
and  fostering  a  spirit  of  vanity,  and  a  habit  of  obtrusive 
forwardness  in  their  manners.  It  is  a  doubt  with  some 
persons  whether  this  practice  should  be  countenanced  at 
all. 

Public  Collections  are  a  subject  of  immense  im- 
portance ;  much  that  is  going  on  in  the  world  for  its  con- 
version to  God,  depends  upon  them  ;  and  the  life,  activity, 
and  earnestness  of  a  church,  must  be  estimated  in  some 
measure  by  the  readiness  and  liberality  with  which  they 
are  made.  This  plan  is  an  easy  and  expeditious  method 
of  raising  money,  and  is  perfectly  consonant  with  all  the 
principles  of  the  New  Testament.  These  collections 
have  become  of  so  much  consequence,  that  it  seems 
almost  necessary  to  systematize  them.  Some  attempt 
and  approach  to  this  has  been  made  by  the  plan  among 
the  Congregational  churches  to  collect  on  the  last  Sab- 
bath in  October,  for  the  British  missions ;  but  a  far  more 
perfect  scheme  is  adopted,  under  the  power  of  Confer- 
ence, among  the  Wesleyans,  by  which  I  believe  certain 
proscribed  objects  are  collected  for  on  certain  days 
throughout  the  whole  denomination.  We,  as  Congrega- 
tionalists,  and  indeed  other  bodies  of  Christians,  have  no 
such  authority  as  this  ;  the  independence  of  our  system 
of  polity  does  not  allow  it.  In  Ireland,  collections  are 
made  after  every  sermon,  it  being  understood  that  copper 
only  is  expected  ordinarily,  and  silver  at  stated  and  well- 
known  times.     In  Scotland,  opportunity  is  given  to  the 


160 


DILIGENCE    AS 


wfefshippers  as  they  go  into  the  sanctuary,  to  deposit 
their  offerings  every  Sabbath  in  plates  held  to  receive 
them  at  the  door. 

The  greater  part  of  the  denominations  in  this  country, 
both  established  and  unestablished,  have  no  system  what- 
ever, beyond  an  arrangement,  which  some  congregations 
make  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  concerning  the  objects 
they  will  collect  for  during  the  ensuing  twelve  months ; 
and  the  standing  rule  as  to  time  with  some  of  them  is  to 
have  a  collection  for  some  object  every  month.  My  own 
opinion  is  that,  generally  speaking,  we  have  too  few  col- 
lections, an  idea  wliich  perhaps  will  be  startling  to  some, 
who  think  we  have  already  too  many,  A  "  collection" 
is  a  very  vague  term  ;  it  may  mean  an  effort  to  raise  a 
large  sum,  or  it  may  mean  only  the  gathering  up  of  the 
smaller  offerings  of  the  people  ;  and  attaching  to  it  only 
the  former  idea,  our  congregations  may  well  shrink  from 
the  multiplication  of  these  efforts;  but  suppose  a  collec- 
tion implied,  as  it  does,  except  on  occasions,  in  Ireland 
and  Scotland,  only  the  giving  of  a  six-pence,  or  a  penny 
—  such  collections  might  be  multiplied  indefinitely,  with- 
out oppressing  any  one  ;  for  who  would  be  impoverished 
by  a  six-pence,  or  a  penny,  even  every  week?  Suppose, 
then,  we  had  a  graduated  scale  of  collections.  The  first 
class  actually  requiring  an  effort,  for  the  Missionary 
Society,  for  instance,  or  for  any  other  paramount  object, 
when  everybody  would  be  expected  to  give  their  largest 
sums  ;  the  second  class  requiring  only  half  this  effort,  for 
British  Missions,  or  anything  else  the  congregation 
might  determine  upon ;  the  third  class  requiring  no 
effort  at  all,  but  merely  the  smaller  sums.  Now  it  is 
the  multiplication  of  this  third  class  that  I  allude  to, 
which  would  oppress  no  one,  and  yet,  if  generally  made, 
would,  for  various  objects  that  now  receive  very  inade- 
quate help,  raise  a  large  sum.  What  an  amount  would 
be  raised  by  a  six-pence,  or  only  a  single  penny,  being 
asked  for  from  the  individuals  composing  our  whole 
denomination!  And  if  it  were  announced,  when  the 
object  is  mentioned,  that  it  came  under  the  first,  second, 


CHURCH    r.IEMEERS.  161 

or  third  class  collection,  the  people  would  then  know 
what  was  expected  from  them  in  the  way  of  coDtrihution. 

This  scheme  will  be  thought  by  some  to  be  liable  to 
objection  ;  first,  as  being  fanciful  ;  but  if  it  be  effective 
we  need  not  mind  that.  Secondly,  it  would  often  lead 
us  into  difficulty  under  what  class  to  place  an  object ; 
but  there  is  already  such  a  classification,  though  not  so 
systematically  arranged  and  designated  ;  for  who  gives 
as  much  to  the  Seaman's  Friend  Society,  or  to  the  Soci- 
ety for  the  Conversion  of  the  Jews,  or  to  the  Moravian 
Missions,  or  to  many  other  objects  that  could  be  men- 
tioned, as  they  do  to  the  London  Missionary  Society,  or 
to  British  Missions  ?  The  objects  classify  themselves. 
But  it  will  be  said  this  will  restrict  benevolence.  By  no 
means,  for  no  one  need  be  tied  down  to  the  six-pence  or 
penny  ;  if  they  choose  to  give  more,  it  is  perfectly  at  their 
option  to  do  so,  but  they  are  not  asked  for  more.  And 
then  as  to  giving  dissatisfaction  to  the  societies  which 
would  only  get  into  the  third  class,  many  of  them  would 
gladly  get  there,  rather  than  not  get  into  any  one.  Let 
them  have  only  the  smaller  gatherings  from  all  the 
churches,  throughout  the  country,  and  they  would 
account  themselves  much  better  supported  than  they  are 
at  present.  But  the  multiplication  of  collections,  it  may 
be  said,  would  spoil  the  ministrations  of  the  sanctuary, 
and  make  us  weary  of  hearing  about  societies.  So  it 
would  if  there  was  to  be  a  long  statement  made  a]x)ut 
each  ;  but  not  if  a  simple  announcement  was  made,  and 
very  little  said  about  the  matter,  leaving  the  thing  to 
commend  itself  to  every  man's  judgment,  for  no  one 
would  want  a  long  appeal  which  was  to  get  only  so 
small  a  sum  from  him. 

This  plan  would  suit  small  congregations  as  well  as 
large  ones,  which  are  apt  to  excuse  themselves  from 
doing  anything,  because  they  cannot  do  much.  It  is  a 
plea  often  used  by  a  congregation  that  the  little  they  can 
raise  is  not  worth  sending ;  but  if  they  would  consider 
how  a  multiplication  of  these  small  sums  makes  a  large 
one,  tbey  would  see  that  they  ought  not  to  be  deterred 
by  iti6  consideration  of  their  paucity  and  poverty.  vSuch 
14 


162  DILIGENCE    AS 

a  plan  as  I  now  recommend  would  save  the  trouble, 
expense  and  inconvenience  of  deputations,  at  least  to  a- 
considerable  extent.  Nof  that  I  think  these  can  be 
entirely  dispensed  with,  though  it  is  high  time  they  were 
reduced  within  a  much  narrower  compass  than  they 
occupy  at  present.  They  are  a  waste  of  public  money, 
a  disparagement  to  resident  ministers,  a  hindrance  to  the 
duties  of  the  pastorate,  a  pandering  to  a  vicious  appetite 
for  novelty  and  excitement,  and  a  means  of  rendering 
churches  dissatisfied  with  their  own  pastors,  by  their 
being  thus  brought  into  comparison,  not  to  say  contrast, 
with  the  strangers  who  visit  them. 

The  whole  system  of  modern  evangelization  partakes 
far  too  much  of  the  noisy,  the  showy,  the  ostentatious 
and  vain-glorious.  We  are  not  content  to  work,  but  we 
must  talk  so  much  about  what  we  do ;  there  must  be 
such  endless  speechifying,  such  blowing  of  trumpets, 
such  parade  of  names  and  sums  and  operations,  that  it 
looks  as  if  it  were  not  the  doing  of  the  thing  upon  which 
we  were  intent,  but  telling  what  we  have  done,  and 
priding  ourselves  upon  it.  And  why  is  all  this,  but 
because  our  passions  rather  than  our  principles  are  al 
present  engaged  in  the  work ;  because  our  tastes  rather 
than  our  convictions  are  employed  ;  because  motives 
have  less  to  do  with  these  matters  than  impulses.  We 
want  a  deeper  sort  of  piety  in  our  churches,  a  more 
realizing  sense  of  the  claims  of  Christ,  the  value  of 
the  soul,  the  misery  of  men  without  the  gospel,  and  the 
great  ends  and  obligations  of  the  Christian  profession.  If 
the  love  of  Christ  constrained  us  —  if  no  man  lived  to 
himself — if  we  felt  that  for  every  farthing  of  property 
we  were  accountable  to  God,  and  were  habitually  look- 
ing on  to  the  day  of  account,  w^e  should  not  want  such 
instrumentality  as  is  now  employed ;  or  at  any  rate 
should  want  much  less  of  it. 

But  we  now  return  to  the  idea  that  an  earnest  church 
is  A  WORKING  CHURCH.  Churches  as  well  as  individuals 
have  their  character  ;  and  an  honorable  one  it  is  for 
either,  to  be  known  as  always  busy  in  doing  good. 
There  are  four  descriptions  of  religious  communities  to 


CHURCH    MEMBERS.  163 

he  found,  as  regards  their  prevailing  character.  The 
first  consists  of  those  in  which  an  apparent,  and  perhaps 
it  may  be  but  an  apparent,  high  degree  of  spirituahty 
exists  —  the  preacher  is  devout,  and  his  sermons  partake 
of  his  ov^^n  habitude  of  thought  and  feeling,  and  the 
people,  like  the  pastor,  are  thought  to  be,  and  perhaps 
are,  professors  of  a  higher  tone  of  piety  than  many 
others  —  there  is  much  of  the  divine  life,  h  one  of  its 
phases,  there  —  but  although  numerous,  and  wealthy, 
they  do  nothing,  or  nothing  in  proportion  to  their  ability, 
for  the  cause  of  Christ.  Their  collections  are  few  and 
small ;  they  are  not  at  all  known  as  engaged  in  any  of 
the  great  societies  of  the  day.  Their  calling  seems  to 
be  to  luxuriate  on  gospel  privileges,  to  enjoy  a  perpetual 
feast  of  fat  things ;  but  they  appear  to  think  they  have 
no  vocation  to  sound  out  the  word  of  the  Lord  ;  or,  at  any 
rate,  they  consider  themselves  as  something  like  the  Jew- 
ish church,  a  stationary  witness  for  God. 

The  second  description  of  our  churches  is  that  of  the 
communities  of  Christians  where  there  is  perhaps  less  of 
spirituality,  less  of  the  unction  and  the  odor  of  doctrinal 
theology,  either  in  the  pastor  or  the  flock,  though  the 
spiritual  life  is  by  no  means  low  in  comparison  with 
many  others ;  but  then  all  is  activity  and  energy  —  the 
pastor  is  devoted  not  merely  to  his  people  but  to  the 
cause  of  God  at  large.  The  collections  are  numerous 
and  great.  The  church  can  be  depended  upon,  and  is 
looked  to  for  assistance  by  the  directors  of  our  institu- 
tions.    All  hands  are  busy  in  Sunday  and  daily  schools 

—  tract  distribution  —  working  parties  — Bible  classes  — 
and  organizations  for  home  and  foreign  societies  —  all 
that  know  them  think  and  speak  of  them  as  a  thoroughly 
working  church. 

The  third  description  applies  to  those  who  are  neither 
the  one  nor  the  other  of  these  ;  they  have  lost  theii 
spirituality,  and  have  not  gained  a  character  for  activity 

—  they  neither  enjoy  the  life  of  godliness  nor  diffuse  it  — 
they  have  not  even  a  name  to  live,  but  are  dead. 

The  fourth  includes  those  —  alas  !  how  few  they  are  — 
who  unite  an  earnest  spirituality  with  an   activity  and 


164  THE    CAUSES    THAT 

liberality  no  less  eminent ;  where  the  spiritual  life  is  all 
healthfulness  and  vigor,  and  where  its  developments  are 
seen  in  all  the  operations  of  a  holy  zeal.  This,  then,  is 
what  we  want ;  churches  in  which  the  vital  principle  of 
piety  shall  be  so  strong  that  they  may  be  said  to  be  like 
the  mystic  wheels  of  Ezekiel,  instinct  with  the  Spirit  of 
God  and  ever  in  motion  —  churches  whose  activity,  like 
that  of  the  strong  and  healthy  man,  is  the  working  of  a 
life  too  vivacious  to  remain  in  a  state  of  indolence  and 
repose  —  churches  so  filled  with  the  Spirit,  that  his 
gracious  influence  is  perpetually  welling  up  and  flowing 
over  in  streams  of  benevolent  activity  for  the  salvation  of 
the  world — churches  partaking  of  so  much  of  the  mind 
of  Christ  that  from  their  own  internal  constraint,  they 
must,  like  him,  be  ever  going  about  doing  good.  Oh 
that  God  would  pour  out  his  Spirit,  and  raise  every 
separate  fellowship  of  believers  to  this  blessed  state  of 
spiritual  prosperity  ! 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE    CAUSES    THAT    OPERATE  TO    REPRESS    THIS    EARNEST- 
NESS   OF   RELIGION. 

Such  a  state  of  the  church  as  that  to  which  this  vol- 
ume refers,  cannot  be  rationally  looked-  for  without  in- 
tense solicitude,  importunate  and  incessant  prayer,  reso- 
lute e'flfort,  and  both  a  vigorous  and  watchful  opposition 
to  hostile  influence.  This  malign  influence  is  exerted 
in  various  ways,  and  from  various  quarters.  Of  course 
the  chief  hindrance  is  from  the  remains  of  corruption  in 
the  heart  of  every  Christian,  and  the  efforts  of  Satan  ; 
and  these  must  be  overcome  by  a  more  determined  aiio' 
severe  mortification  of  our  members  which  are  upon  the 
earth,  and  a  more  unrelenting  crucifixion  of  the  flesh, 
with  the  affections  and  lusts  thereof;  as  well  as  by  sobri- 
ety and  vigilance  of  mind  in  resisting  the  temptations  of 
our  adversary  the  devil.  But  now  I  refer  more  espe- 
cially to  certain  impediments  arising  out  of  the  state 
both  of  the  church  and  of  the  world. 


REPRESS    EARNESTNESS.  165 

1.  Perhaps  we  may  consider  the  easy  access  to 
church  fellowship  which  is  now  so  generally  granted, 
as  one  cause  of  the  deterioration  of  the  piety  of  this 
da5'>  I  am  aware  that  the  admission  of  members  ^  to 
our  churches  Is  a  subject  of  perplexing  ditF.culty  ;  it  is 
not  at  our  option  to  make  the  door  of  ingress  to  the 
church,  and  of  approach  to  the  table  of  the  Lord, 
either  wider  or  narrower  than  it  is  made  by  him  to 
whom  both  the  spiritual  house  and  the  table  for  ihe 
inmates  belong.  But  the  difficulty  lies  in  knowing 
exactly  what  is  his  will  on  the  subject,  in  each  particular 
case  as  it  occurs.  For  my  own  part,  it  is  a  heavy  bur- 
den to  determine  upon  the  point ;  no  part  of  my  duty 
is  so  perplexing,  I  am  afraid,  on  the  one  hand,  to  repel 
the  true  convert,  and  deprive  him  of  the  means  of  nour- 
ishment and  growth  ;  and,  on  the  other,  of  admitting  the 
self-deceived,  and  being  thus  the  abettor  of  his  delusion 
and  destruction.  Two  consequences  result  from  the 
reception  of  unsuitable  persons  to  communion ;  they  not 
only  are  confirmed  themselves  in  their  false  views"  of 
their  own  case,  but  by  their  low  state  of  pious  feeling, 
or  total  destitution  of  it,  their  worldly-mindedness  and 
laxity,  they  con'upt  others,  and  exert  a  deadening  influence 
upon  the  v\'hole  community.  Their  example  is  a  source 
of  corruption  to  very  many,  who  are  allured  by  it  into  all 
their  seciilarities  and  fashionable  follies.  One  family  of 
such  worldly  and  lukewarm  professors  is  often  a  grief  to 
the  pastor,  a  lamentation  to  the  spiritual  part  of  the 
flock,  a  snare  to  many  of  the  less  pious,  and  a  reproach 
to  the  church  at  large.  Too  many  of  this  description 
find  their  way,  in  these  days  of  easy  profession,  into  all 
our  churches.  I  have  arrived,  therefore,  at  the  conclu- 
sion, that  our  tendency  in  this  day  is  to  make  the  stan- 
dard for  admission  too  low,  and  the  test  of  spiritual 
fitness  too  easy.  The  consequence  of  this  is  that  our 
churches  have  many  in  them  who  are  professors  only, 
and  who  exert  an  unfavorable  influence  over  those  of 
whom  we  hope  better  things.  They  benumb  by  their 
torpid  touch  those  with  whom  they  come  into  contact. 
It  is  probable  that  there  is  no  pastor  who,  upon  looking 
14* 


166  THE    CAUSES    THAT 

round  upon  his  church,  does  not  see  many  members, 
who,  if  they  had  manifested  no  more  concern  when  they 
made  appUcation  for  membership  than  they  now  do,  he 
would  have  never  thought  of  receiving  them  into  com- 
munion, while  they  indeed  would  never  have  apphed  for 
it  themselves.  How  much  is  it  to  be  wished  that  such 
persons,  if  they  do  not  improve,  would  dissolve  their 
connection  with  the  church,  since  their  remaining  only 
corrupts  it,  without  doing  anything  for  themselves,  but  to 
harden  their  hearts,  aggravate  then*  guilt,  and  increase 
their  condemnation. 

II.  T'-'r3  are  few  things  which  exert  a  more  unfavor- 
able influence  upon  the  piety  of  our  churches  than  the 
mixed  marriages  between  those  who  are  professors  of 
religion,  and  those  who  are  not ;  and  which,  it  must  be 
acknowledged  and  regretted,  are  in  the  present  day 
lamentably  common.  The  operation  of  such  unions  on 
the  state  of  religion,  so  far  as  regards  the  panics  them- 
selves, need  be  no  mystery  to  any  one.  When  two  indi- 
viduals of  different  tastes,  in  reference  to  any  matter,  are 
associated,  and  one  of  them  has  an  aversion,  or  even  an 
indifference,  to  the  pursuit  of  the  other,  it  is  next  to  im- 
possible for  the  one  so  opposed  to  sustain  with  vigor 
and  perseverance  his  selected  course  of  action  ;  and  then 
if  he  carjnot  assimilate  the  taste  of  the  other  party  to  his 
own,  he  must,  for  the  sake  of  harmony,  give  up  his 
cherished  predilections.  This  applies  to  nf)  subject  with 
such  force  as  it  does  to  religion.  Every  Christian  man 
carries  in  his  own  heart,  and  encounters  from  surround- 
ing circumstances,  sufficient  resistance  to  a  life  of  godli- 
ness, without  selecting  a  still  more  potent  foe  to  piety  in 
an  unconverted  wife.  Conceive  of  either  party,  in  such 
an  unsaiictified  union,  continually  exposed,  if  not  to  the 
actual  oi^osition,  yet  to  the  deadening  influence,  of  the 
other.  Think  of  a  religious  wife,  to  put  it  in  the  mild- 
est form,  not  persecuted  indeed,  though  this  is  often  the 
case,  by  an  irrehgious  husband,  but  left  without  the  aid 
of  his  example,  his  prayer,  his  cooperation  ;  hindered 
from  a  regular  attendance  upon  many  of  the  means  of 
grace  which  she  deems  necessary  for  keeping  up  the  life 
of  godliness  in  her  soul ;  obhged  to  be  much  in  a  sort 


REPRESS    EARNESTNESS.  167 

of  company  for  which  she  may  have  no  taste,  yea, 
a  positive  aversion,  and  to  engage  in  occupations  which 
she  finds  it  dilhcult  to  reconcile  to  her  conscience, 
or  harmonize  witli  her  profession ;  hearing  no  con- 
versation, and  witnessing  no  pursuits,  but  what  are  of 
the  earth,  earthly;  ridiculed,  perhaps,  for  some  of  her 
conscientious  scruples,  and  doomed  to  hear  perpetual 
sneers  cast  upon  professors  for  their  inconsistency  ;  or, 
what  is  still  more  ensnaring,  constantly  exposed  to  the 
deleterious  influence  of  an  unvarying,  but,  at  the  same 
time,  unsanctiiied,  amiableness  of  disposition  in  her  hus- 
band, whose  want  of  piety  seems  compensated  by  many 
other  excellences  —  is  it  likely,  unless  there  be  a 
martyr-like  piety,  that  amidst  such  trials  she  will  con- 
tinue firm,  consistent,  and  spiritual  I  Will  she  not,  if 
possessed  only  of  the  average  degree  of  piety,  relax  by 
little  and  little,  till  her  enfeebled  and  pliable  profession 
easily  accommodates  itself  to  the  wishes  and  tastes  of  her 
unconverted  husband  1 

But  perhaps  the  influence  on  religion  generally  is  still 
worse  when  the  husband  is  a  professor,  and  the  wife  is 
not ;  worse  because  he  is  more  seen  and  known  ;  has 
more  to  do  with  church  affairs  ;  has  greater  power  over 
others,  and  therefore  may  be  supposed  to  be  more  injuri- 
ous or  beneficial,  accordingly  as  his  personal  piety  is 
more  or  less  vigorous  and  consistent.  When  such  a 
man  unites  himself  with  a  female  whose  tastes  and  hab- 
its are  opposed  to  spiritual  religion ;  who  is  fond  of  gay 
company  and  fashionable  amusements,  and  would  prefer 
a  party  or  a  rout  to  a  religious  service  ;  who  feels  rest- 
less, uneasy,  and  discontented  in  religious  society  and 
occupations ;  who  has  no  love  for  family  devotion,  and 
is  often  absent  from  the  morning  or  evening  sacrifice  — 
is  it  likely  the  husband  of  such  a  woman  will  long  retain 
his  consistency,  his  fervor,  his  spirituality]  Will  he  not, 
for  the  sake  of  connubial  happiness,  concede  one  thing 
after  another,  till  nearly  all  the  more  strict  forms  of  god- 
liness are  surrendered,  and  much  of  its  spirit  lost.  His 
house  becomes  the  scene  of  gayety,  his  children  grow 
up  under  maternal  influence,  his  own  piety  evaporates, 
and  at  List  he  has  little  left  of  religion,  but  the  name. 


168  THE    CAUSES    THAT 

And  now  what  is  his  influence  hkely  to  be  upon  others? 
What  famiUes  usually  spring  from  such  marriages  ;  and 
what  churches  are,  by  a  still  wider  spread  of  mischief, 
formed  by  them.  This  practice  is  ever  going  on  before  our 
eyes,  and  we  feel  unable  to  arrest  it.  It  was  never  more 
common  than  at  this  time.  Notwithstanding  the  protests 
which  have  been  lifted  up  against  it,*  the  evil  is  continu- 
ally spreading,  and  while  it  too  convincingly  proves  the 
low  state  of  religion  amongst  us,  is  an  evidence  of  the  truth 
•j)f  the  last  particular,  that  our  present  practice  of  the 
admission  of  persons  to  membership  is  far  too  lax.  Too 
few  of  the  female  members  of  our  churches  would  refuse 
an  advantageous  offer  of  marriage  on  the  ground  of  the 
want  of  religion  in  the  individual  who  makes  the  proposal. 
And  how  many  of  the  opposite  sex  would  allow  their 
conscience,  on  the  same  ground,  to  control  their  fancy, 
and  give  law  to  their  passions  1  Can  we  wonder  that 
there  should  be  little  intense  devotion  in  our  churches, 
in  such  a  state  of  things  as  this  1  How  can  we  look  for 
earnest  piety  when  such  hindrances  as  these  are  thrown 
in  the  way  of  iil  Honorable  and  noble  exceptions,  I 
admit  there  are.  Among  others,  one  especially  have  I 
known,  where  a  female,  by  consenting  to  marry  an 
ungodly  man,  could  have  been  raised  with  her  fatherless 
children,  from  widowhood,  sohcitude,  suspense,  and 
comparative  poverty,  to  wealth,  ease,  and  grandeur  ;  but 
where,  with  martyr-like  consistency,  she  chose  rather 
to  struggle  on  for  the  support  of  herself  and  her  chil- 
dren, with  the  smile  of  conscience  and  of  God  to  sustain 
her  noble  heart,  than  to  accept  the  golden  bait  under 
the  frown  of  both.  But  how  few  are  there  who  would 
thus  account  the  reproach  of  Christ  greater  treasure  than 
all  the  riches  of  Egypt ! 

It  is  diflicult'to  know  what  to  do  with  this  evil.  Some 
chm-ches  make  it  a  matter  of  discipline,  and  expel  the 
member  who  marries  an  individual  that  is  not  a  profes- 
sor. This  is  the  well-known  practice  of  the  Quaker 
body ;  and  also  of  some  of  the  churches  of  the  Congre- 

*  By  none,  I  believe  more  frequently  than  myself,  for  I  have 
adverted  to  it,  or  dw  It  at  length  upon  it,  in  several  of  my 
works. 


REPRESS    EARNESTNESS.  169 

gational  order.  There  are  objections,  howevi-;*,  against 
this,  which  I  have  never  yet  been  able  to  surmount.  A 
member,  whether  suspended  or  excommunicated,  can 
never  be  restored  except  upon  a  profession  of  penitence. 
Now,  thoug-h  in  this  case  there  can  be  no  reformation, 
since  the  married  cannot  re-marry,  there  may  be  repent- 
ance ;  yet  it  is  a  deUcate  affair,  as  affecting  his  wife,  to 
bring  a  man  to  say  he  is  sorry  he  e^ier  married  ;  unless, 
indeed,  we  separate,  by  a  refined  abstraction,  the  act 
of  marrying  an  ungodly  person,  from  his  act  of  marry- 
ing this  particular  woman.  Instances  may  occur,  and 
have  occurred  in  my  own  pastorate,  of  so  very  flagrant  a 
nature,  indicating  so  total  a  want  of  all  sense  of  religious 
truth,  feeling,  and  propriety,  as  to  warrant,  and  indeed 
require,  a  church  to  exscind  the  party  who  had  thus  vio- 
lated every  rule  of  Scripture  and  of  common  decorum. 
In  all  cases  of  this  description  the  pastor  is  called  upon 
to  interfere  before  the  connection  is  fixed,  if  he  have  an 
opportunity.  He  should  point  out  the  inconsistency  in 
the  church-member,  the  peril  that  must  inevitably  ensue  to 
the  soul,  and  the  all  but  uniform  and  considerable  unhap- 
piness  that  attends  such  marriages ;  and  in  the  case  of 
such  flagrant  impropriety  as  I  have  last  mentioned,  let  him 
candidly  state  the  probability  of  exclusion  from  the  church. 
III.  I  may  mention,  as  the  next  hindrance  to  earnest 
pie^y,  the  taste  for  amusement  by  which  the  present  day 
is,  perhaps,  characterized  m.ore  than  most  which  have 
preceded  it.  Every  age  has  had  its  sources  of  pleasure, 
and  its  means  and  methods  of  diversion,  to  relieve  the 
mind  from  the  fatigue  and  oppression  of  the  more  stmous 
occupations  of  life.  The  human  mind  cannot  be  kept 
always  upon  the  stretch,  nor  can  the  heart  sustain,  with- 
out occasional  relief,  its  burden  of  care  ; .  and  we  would 
not  rob  the  soul  of  its  few  brief  holidays,  nor  condemn  as 
irrational  or  unchristian  its  occasional  oblivion  of  worldly 
vexations  amidst  the  beauties  of  nature,  or  the  pleasures 
of  the  social  circle.*     There  is  a  tinie  to  laugh  as  well 

*  Two  or  three  of  the  particulars  of  this  chapter  have  been 
touched  upon  in  the  volume  upon  "An  Earnest  Ministry  ;"  but 
as  they  still  more  intimately  relate  to  the  congregation,  they 
are  reintroduced  here. 


170  THE    CAUSES    THAT 

as  to  weep.  It  is  highly  probable  hat,  vidth  the  advance 
of  civilization,  and  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  man,  instead 
of  rendering  himself  indepencfent  of  the  lighter  amuse- 
ments, will  actually  multiply  them.  And  it  nmst  be 
admitted  that  modern  taste  has,  by  its  elegance,  sup- 
planted some  of  the  gross  carnality  and  vulgar  joviality  of 
former  days.  There  is  an  obvious  reformation  and  ele- 
vation of  popular  amusements.  The  low  taste  for  brutal 
sports  is  we  hope  supplanted  by  a  higher  kind  of  enjoy- 
ment, which,  if  not  more  Christian,  is  at  any  rate  more 
human  and  rational,  and  this  is  something  gained  to  mor- 
als, even  where  the  improvement  does  not  go  on  to 
religion.  Still,  it  may  be  seriously  questioned  whether, 
among  professing  Christians,  the  propensity  for  enter- 
tainments has  not  been  growing  too  fast,  and  ripened 
into  something  like  a  passion  for  worldly  pleasures. 
Dinner  parties,  among  the  wealthier  classes  of  professors, 
have  become  frequent  and  expensive  ;  viands  the  most 
costly,  and  wines  the  most  various,  are  set  forth  with  a 
profusion  which  prove  at  what  an  outlay  the  entertain- 
ment has  been  served  up  to  gratify  the  vanity  of  the  host, 
and  the  palate  of  his  guests.  There  is  an  interesting 
incident  in  point,  mentioned  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Scott,  the 
commentator,  which  I  shall  here  introduce,  as  showing 
the  light  in  which  that  eminent  man  viewed  this  subject. 
I  am  not  quite  sure  I  have  not  introduced  it  in  one  of  my 
other  works  ;  if  I  have,  it  will  bear  repetition. 

"  For  some  time  I  had  frequent  invitations  to  meet 
dinner  parties  formed  of  persons  professing  religion,  and 
I  generally  accepted  them  ;  yet  seldom  returned  home 
without  dissatisfaction,  and  even  remorse  of  conscience. 
One  day  (the  Queen's  birth  day)  I  met  at  the  house  of 
a  rather  opulept  tradesman,  a  large  party,  among  whom 
were  some  other  ministers.  The  dinner  was  exceedingly 
splendid  and  luxurious,  consisting  of  tv  o  courses,  includ- 
ing every  delicacy  in  season.  Some  jokes  passed  upon 
the  subject  ;  and  one  person  in  particular,  a  minister  of 
much  celebrity,  said,  '  If  we  proceed  thus,  we  shall  soon 
have  the  gout  numbered  among  the  privileges  of  the  gos- 
pel.' This  passed  off  very  well ;  but  in  the  evening,  a 
question  being  proposed  on  the  principal  dangers  to  which 


REPRESS    EARNESTNESS.  171 

evangelical  religion  is  exposed  in  the  present  day,  when  it 
came  my  turn  to  speak,  I  ventured  to  say  that  conformity 
to  the  icorld  among  persons  professing  godliness  was  the 
great  danger  of  all.  One  thing  led  to  another,  and  the 
luxurious  dinner  did  not  pass  unnoticed  by  me.  I  ex- 
pressed myself  as  cautiously  as  I  could  consistently,  with 
oiy  conscience,  but  I  observed  that  however  needful  it 
might  be  for  Christians  in  superior  stations  to  give 
splendid  and  expensive  dinners  to  their  worldly  relations 
and  connections,  yet  when  ministers  and  Christians  met 
together,  as  such,  it  was  not  consistent,  but  should  be 
excl"  anged  for  more  frugal  entertainments  of  each  other, 
ind  more  abundant  feeding  of  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the 
ame,  and  the  blind.  Luke  xiv.  12-14.  Probably  I  was 
^00  pointed  ;  and  many  strong  expressions  of  disapproba- 
'ion  were  used  at  the  time  ;  but  I  went  home  as  one  who 
lad  throwTi  off  a  great  burden  from  his  back  —  rejoicing 
n  the  testimony  of  my  conscience.  The  consequence  was. 
«,  sort  of  tacit  excommunication  from  the  circle.  The 
gentleman  at  whose  house  this  passed  never  invited  mc 
again  but  once,  and  then  our  dinner  was  literally  a  piece 
of  boiled  beef.  He  was,  however,  a  truly  pious  man, 
though  misled  by  bad  examples  and  customs."  He 
always  continued  to  act  towards  me  in  a  friendly  man- 
ner, and  though  I  had  not  seen  him  for  several  years,  he 
left  me  a  small  legacy  at  his  death."  There  are  few 
who  will  not  be  of  opinion  that  Mr.  Scott's  rebuke  would 
have  been  conveyed  with  more  propriety,  had  it  been 
administered  privately  ;  when  it  would  manifest  all  the 
fidelity,  without  any  of  the  seeming  rudeness,  with  which 
it  was  given.  Yet  how  convincingly  does  it  prove  the 
cleamess^  of  his  perception  of  what  is  right,  the  tender- 
ness of  his  conscience  in  shrinking  from  what  is  wrong, 
and  the  strength  of  his  moral  courage  in  reproving  what 
he  deemed''  to  be  a  fault.  What  would  Scott  have  said 
of  a  professor  of  religion  exhibiting  two-and-thirty  dif 
ferent  sorts  of  wine  upon  his  table  and  sideboard  at  the 
same  time  !  * 

*  When  will  the  mmisters  and  members  of  our  churches 
begin  generally  to  inquire,  whether  it  is  not  expedient  for  them, 
if  not  for  their  own  sakes,  yet  for  the  sake  of  the  communitj 


172  THE    CAUSES    THAT 

But  it  is  not  the  dinner  party  so  much  as  the  evening 
rout,  that  is  becoming  the  prevaihng  custom  and  the  snare 
of  modern  Christians,  when  large  assemblages  are  con- 
vened, comprising  pious  and  worldly,  grave  and  gay 
young  and  old,  not  to  enjoy  "  the  feast  of  reason,  and  the 
flow  of  soul;"  not  perhaps  even  to  be  regaled  by  the 
pleasures  of  music,  but  by  the  amusement  of  the  song 
and  the  dance  ;  when  large  expense  is  incurred,  late 
houjs  are  kept,  and  everything  but  a  spirit  friendly  to 

to  discontinue  ahog-ether  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors  ?  When 
it  is  considered  that  one  half  of  the  insanity,  two  thirds  of  the 
abject  poverty,  and  three  fourths  of  the  crime,  of  our  country, 
are  to  be  traced  up  to  drunkenness,  — that  more  than  £60,000,- 
000  are  annually  expended  in  destructive  beverages,  —that 
myriads  annually  die  the  drunkard's  death,  and  descend  still 
lower  than  the  drunkard's  grave  —  that  thousands  of  church 
members  are  every  year  cut  off  from  Christian  fellowship  for 
inebriety  —  that  every  minister  of  the  gospel  has  to  complain  of 
the  hindrance  to  his  usefulness  from  this  cause  —  and  that  more 
ministers  are  diss^raced  by  this  than  by  any  other  habit  —  that 
in  short  more  misery  and  more  crime  flow  over  society  from 
this  source  than  from  any  other,  war  and  slavery  not  excepted  — • 
and  that  by  the  highest  medical  authorities  these  intoxicating 
drinks  are  reduced  as  diet,  from  the  rank  of  necessaries  to  lux- 
uries —  it  surely  does  become  every  professor  of  religion  to  ask 
whether  it  is  not  incumbent  upon  him,  both  for  his  own  safety 
and  for  the  good  of  his  fellow-creatures,  to  abstain  from  this 
pernicious  indulgence.  On  the  authority  of  Mr.  Sheriff  Alison, 
It  is  stated  that  in  the  year  1S40,  there  were  in  Glasgow  amongst 
about  30,000  inhabited  houses,  no  fewer  than  3010  appropriated 
to  the  sale  of  intoxicating  drinks.  The  same  gentleman  de- 
clared that  the  consumption  of  ardent  spirits  in  that  city 
amounted  to  1,800,000  gallons  yearly,  the  value  of  which  is 
£1,350,000.  No  fewer  than  30,000  persons  there,  go  to  bed 
drunk  every  Saturday  night  ;  25,000  commitments  are  annually 
made  on  account  of  drunkenness,  of  which  10,000  are  females. 
Is  Glasgow  worse  than  many  other  places  ?  Professors  of  re- 
ligion, ponder  this  ;  and  will  you  not*  by  abstaining  from  a  lux- 
ury, lend  the  aid  of  your  example  to  discountenance  this  monster 
crime,  and  monster  misery?  It  is  in  the  power,  and  therefore 
is  it  not  the  duty,  of  the  Christian  church  to  do  much  to  stop 
this  evil,  which  sends  more  persons  to  the  mad-house,  the  jail,  the 
hulks  and  the  gallows  —  more  bodies  to  the  grave  —  and  more 
souls  to  perdition,  than  any  other  that  can  be  mentioned.  Can 
the  church  be  in  earnest  till  it  is  prepared  to  make  this  sac- 
rifice ? 


REPRESS    EARNESTNESS.  173 

religion  is  promoted.  It  is  this  kind  of  social  amuse- 
ment—  the  fashionable,  full-dress,  evening-  party  —  car- 
ried to  the  extent  of  entire  conformity  to  the  world,  and 
frequently  resorted  to  —  that  is  injurious  to  the  interests 
of  vital  godliness  in  our  Christian  churches.  But  even 
where  there  is  not  this  extreme  of  gayety,  and  a  some- 
what more  sober  aspect  is  thrown  over  the  circle,  yet 
when  the  winter  passes  off  in  a  round  of  evening  assem- 
blages for  no  higher  occupations  than  music  and  singing, 
it  is  an  occupation  scarcely  congenial  with  the  religious 
taste,  or  friendly  to  the  promotion  of  religious  improve- 
ment. I  have  known  young  people,  professors  of  religion 
too,  who  have  related  with  gleeful  boasting,  as  if  this 
were  the  element  in  which  they  delighted  to  live,  the 
number  of  evenings  during  one  winter  they  have  passed 
in  company,  and  in  such  occupations  as  have  been  just 
alluded  to. 

Now  it  may  be,  and  it  is,  extremely  difficult,  and  no 
one  would  attempt  to  solve  the  problem  —  to  determine 
what  kind  of  parties,  and  what  number  of  them,  are  com- 
patible with  true  godliness,  so  that  when  the  rule  for  this 
kind,  and  this  nmnber  of  entertainments,  is  transgressed, 
the  religion  of  the  individual  is  questionable  or  must  be 
injured.  We  can  only  lay  down  general  principles, 
leaving  the  application  of  them  to  individual  judgment. 
There  are,  no  doubt,  persons  of  such  strength  of  real  in- 
rooted  piety,  of  such  strong  devotional  taste,  and  such 
fixed  habits  of  godliness,  that  they  could  pass  unhurt 
through  a  constant  round  of  seemingly  dissipating  amuse- 
ments ;  just  as  there  are  persons  of  such  strong  constitu- 
tions and  such  robust  health,  that  they  can  breathe  a 
tainted  atmosphere,  or  even  take  some  kinds  of  poison 
without  injury.  There  is  a  most  striking  instance  of  this 
lately  published  by  the  Bishop  of  Oxford,  in  the  Life  of 
Lady  Godolphin,  who  preserved  not  only  her  personal 
purity,  but  an  unusual  degree  of  spirituality  and  heav- 
enly-mindedness,  amidst  the  endless  gayeties  and  the 
revolting  licentiousness  of  the  court  of  Charles  the 
Second.  In  reference  to  which,  we  can  only  say,  "  To 
the  pure,  all  thing?  are  pure."  But  most  certainly  the 
15 


174  THE    CAUSES    THAT 

average  piety  of  our  day  is  not  of  such  robustness  as  tc 
be  able  to  resist  strong-  contag-ion.  The  very  craving  after 
diversion,  which  there  is  in  son:\e  persons,  shows  a  mor- 
bid state  of  the  soul.  It  might  be  supposed,  judging 
from  the  representations  of  true  religion  which  we  find 
in  the  Word  of  God,  and  from  the  general  principles 
contained  in  them,  as  well  as  from  the  recorded  experi- 
ence of  the  saints,  which  is  to  be  found  in  religious  biog- 
raphy, that  a  Christian,  one  who  is  really  such,  has  been 
rendered  independent  of  all  such  sources  of  enjoyment  as 
those  to  which  the  people  of  the  world  resort.  It  might 
have  been  concluded,  that  in  the  peace  that  passeth  un- 
derstanding, the  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory,  and 
the  rejoicing  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God,  he  had  found 
not  only  a  substitute  for  the  gratifications  which  by 
becoming  a  Christian  he  had  surrendered,  but  an  infinite 
compensation,  and  that  he  would  deem  it  a  disparage- 
ment of  his  religious  privileges  to  suppose  that  anything 
more  than  these  were  necessary  for  his  felicity,  or  that 
if  an  addition  tvere  needed,  an  adequate  one  could  not  be 
found  in  healthful  recreation  amidst  the  scenery  of  nature, 
in  the  pleasures  of  knowledge,  or  the  activities  of  benev- 
olence. To  hear  all  this  talk,  then,  about  the  necessity 
of  entertainment,  and  the  impossibility  of  relieving  the 
urgency  of  labor,  and  the  monotony  of  life,  without  par- 
ties, routs,  and  diversions,  sounds  very  like  a  growing 
weariness  of  the  yoke  of  Christ,  or  a  complaining,  as  if 
the  church's  paradise  were  no  better  than  a  waste,  howl- 
ing wilderness,  which  needed  the  embellishments  of 
worldly  taste,  and  all  the  resources  of  human  art,  to 
render  it  tolerable,  or  which  in  fact  must  become  little 
better  than  a  fool's  paradise  to  please  the  degenerate 
Christian.  The  growing  desire  after  amusement  marks 
a  low  state  of  religion,  and  it  is  likely  to  depress  it  still 
lower.  It  is  the  profession  of  a  Christian,  that  he  is  not 
so  much  intent  upon  being  happy  in  this  world,  as  upon 
securing  happiness  in  the  next ;  that  he  is  rather  pre- 
paring for  bliss,  than  possessing  and  enjoying  it  now ; 
and  that  he  can  therefore  be  very  well  content  to  forego 
«iany  things  in  which  the  people  of  the  world  see  no 
harm,  and  tlie  harm  of  which  it  might  be  difficult  for  him, 


REPRESS    EARNESTNESS.  175 

if  called  upon  for  proof,  to  demonstrate ;  and  which  he 
is  willing  to  abstain  from,  just  because  they  appear  to 
him  o  take  him  off  from  those  pleasures  Avhich  await 
him,  and  for  which  he  is  to  prepare,  in  the  eternal  world. 
IV.  The  spirit  of  trade,  as  it  is  now  carried  on,  is  no 
less  adverse  to  a  high  state  of  religion,  than  the  spirit  of 
amusement  ;  and  like  that,  is  all  the  more  dangerous 
because  of  the  impossibility  of  assigning  limhs  within 
which  the  indulgence  of  it  is  lawful,  and  beyond  which  it 
becomes  an  infringement  of  the  law  of  God.  Our  chief 
danger  lies  in  those  things  which  become  sins  only  by 
the  degree  in  which  an  affection  or  pursuit,  not  wrong  in 
itself,  is  carried,  — such  as  covetousness,  pleasure-taking, 
and  attention  to  the  business  of  life  ;  these  all  originate 
in  things  lawful  in  themselves,  and  which  are  sinful  only 
by  excess.  Fornication,  adultery,  falsehood,  robbery, 
and  other  vices,  are  all  so  marked  out  and  so  marked  off, 
from  the  region  of  what  is  lawful,  that  the  line  of  division 
is  distinctly  perceptible,  and  we  can  see  at  once  when  we 
are  approaching  the  point  of  prohibition,  and  when  we 
have  stepped  over  it.  But  we  cannot  say  this  of  worldly- 
mindedness.  The  love  of  acquisition  and  appropriation 
is  one  of  the  instinctive  principles  of  our  nature,  planted 
in  it  by  the  hand  of  God,  and  intended  to  subserve  the 
wisest  and  most  beneficent  purposes.  The  whole  fabric 
of  society  is  founded  upon  it,  and  all  social  organization 
is  regulated  by  it.  Trade  may  be  said  to  be  of  God's 
appointment,  if  not  directly;  yet  by  the  law  of  labor 
under  which  we  are  placed ;  and  we  cannot  do  withont 
it.  But  then,  like  every  other  good,  it  may  be  abused 
and  become  an  evil.  It  may  exert  so  engrossing  an  influ- 
ence over  the  mind  as  to  absorb  it,  and  to  exclude  from  it 
the  consideration  of  every  other  subject.  It  must  never 
be  forgotten  that  the  rule  is  binding  upon  us  all,  to  "  seek 
first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  his  righteousness ;"  to 
overcome  the  world  by  faith ;  to  set  our  affections  on 
things  above,  and  not  on  things  on  the  earth.  All  this  is 
as  truly  law,  now,  as  it  ever  was ;  and  no  attention  to 
things  seen  and  temporal,  no  labor  even  to  provide 
things  honest  in  the  sight  of  all  men,  much  more  to  pro- 
vide th/'ngs  abundant  and  luxurious  for  ourselves,  can 


176  THE    CAUSES    THAT 

release  us   from  the  obligation  of  a  supreme  regard  to 
things  "  unseen  and  eternal." 

Now  there  never  was,  in  the  history  of  the  world,  an 
age  01  a  country,  in  which  the  spirit  of  trade  was  more 
urgent,  than  it  is  in  this  land,  and  in  our  day.  We  are 
the  greatest  trading,  manufacturing,  and  commercial  coun- 
try, not  only  that  now  is,  but  that  ever  was.  Tyre,  Car- 
thage, Phoenicia,  and  Venice,  were  mere  pedlers  compared 
with  Britain.  Ours  is  "  the  mart  of  nations  ;"  the  empo- 
rium of  the  world.  Such  a  state  of  things  affects  us  all. 
Scarcely  any  stand  so  remote  from  the  scene  of  busy  ac- 
tivity as  not  to  feel  the  impulse,  and  to  catch  the  spirit. 
x\ll  push  into  the  contest  for  wealth  ;  all  hope  to  gain 
a  prize  of  greater  or  less  value.  Education  has  raised 
up  many  from  the  lower  wallcs,  and  wealth  has  attracted 
down  many  from  the  higher  walks,  to  the  level  of  the 
trading  portion  of  the  community ;  while  population, 
as  is  natural  in  such  a  state  of  things,  has  gone  on 
increasing.  What  is  the  result  ?  Just  what  might  have 
been  expected,  —  a  keen  and  eager  competition  for  busi- 
ness, beyond  any  former  precedent.  Every  trade,  every 
profession,  every  branch  of  manufacture,  or  of  commerce, 
seems  overstocked,  and  every  department  of  action  over- 
crowded. See  what  must  follow  —  time  is  so  occupied 
that  men  have  scarcely  an  hour  in  a  week,  for  thoughtful- 
ness,  reading  the  Scriptures,  and  prayer  —  the  head, 
and  heart,  and  hands,  are  so  full  of  secular  matters,  that 
there  is  no  room  for  God,  Christ,  salvation,  and  eternity  — 
competition  is  so  keen  and  eager,  that  to  get  business, 
the  whatsoever  things  are  true,  and  just,  and  honest,  and 
lovely,  and  of  good  report,  are  trampled  under  foot,  and 
conscientiousness  is  forgotten  or  destroyed.  If  these  ef- 
forts ar3  successful,  and  wealth  flows  in,  and  the  trades- 
man rapidly  rises  in  society,  tlien  he  is,  perhaps,  de- 
stroyed by  prosperity.  In  addition  to  all  this,  what  an 
inconceivable  amount  of  mischief  has  been  inflicted  by  the 
gambling  system  of  speculation,  which,  though  not  set  up, 
has  been  stimulated  by  the  railway  schemes.  What  mul- 
titudes have  plunged  into  the  gulf  of  perdition  wliich 
yawns  beneath  those  who  have  taken  up  the  resolution  of 
the  men  that  will  be  rich,  and  who  are  determined  to 


REPRESS    EARNESTNESS.  177 

encounter  the  many  foolish  and  hurtful  lusts  which  beset 
their  path  !  Religion  becomes  a  flat,  insipid,  and  abstract 
thing,  amidst  all  the  excitement  produced  by  such  pur- 
suits. Even  the  Sabbath  day  hardly  serves  its  pur- 
pose as  a  season  of  respite  and  repose,  given  to  arrest 
the  eagerness  of  pursuit  after  wealth,  and  to  loosen,  for 
a  while,  the  chain  that  binds  man  to  earth  ;  and  is  passed 
with  an  impatience  that  says,  "  When  will  it  be  over,  that 
we  may  buy  and  sell  and  get  gain?"  Of  what  use  are 
sermons  to  those  w'hose  minds  and  hearts  are  intent  upon 
their  speculations  or  their  business?  And  even  the  voice 
of  prayer,  which  calls  them  into  the  presence  of  God,  calls 
them  not  away  from  their  secularities.  Their  Father's 
house  is  made  a  house  of  merchandise,  and  the  Holy  of 
Holies  a  place  of  traffic.  As  soon  might  you  expect  a 
company  of  gamblers  to  lay  down  their  cards,  and,  with 
the  stakes  yet  undecided  before  their  eyes,  listen  with 
attention  to  a  homily  or  a  prayer,  as  some  professing 
Christians  to  join  with  reverence  in  the  devotions  of  the 
Sabbath,  or  to  hear  with  interest  the  voice  of  the 
preacher.  The  spirit  of  trade  thus  carried  on  is  flattening 
the  religion  that  is  left,  and  is  preventing  more  from  being 
produced. 

The  great  object  of  life  to  those  professing  Christians 
who  have  the  opportunity,  seems  to  be,  to  become  rich 
Their  chief  end  does  not  appear  to  be  so  much  to  glorify 
God,  and  enjoy  him  forever,  as  to  obtain  and  enjoy  the 
world.  Wealth  is  the  centre  of  their  wishes,  the  point 
to  which  their  desires  appear  to  presers'e  an  invariable  ten- 
dency. How  many  who  have  named  the  name  of  Christ, 
and  avouched  him  to  be  all  their  salvation,  and  all  their 
desire,  still  make  "  gold  their  hope,  and  say  unto  fine 
gold,  Thou  art  my  confidence."  Jehovah  is  the  God  of 
their  creed,  but  Mammon  is  the  god  of  their  hearts. 
Part  of  one  day  only,  they  profess  to  worship  in  the 
sanctuary  of  religion,  and  all  the  other  six  days  of  the 
week  they  are  devout  adorers  of  the  god  of  wealth 
Professing  Christians  !  it  is  this  worldly  spirit  that  blights 
your  hopes  —  that  chills  religion  to  the  very  heart  —  that 
withers  your  graces  —  that  poisons  your  comforts,  and 
15* 


178  THE    CAUSES    THAT 

blasts  the  fair  fame  of  your  Redeeraei  's  kingdom.  While 
this  spirit  pervades  the  professing  people  of  God,  vital 
godHness  will  not  only  be  low,  but  will  remain  so.  How 
can  it  be  otherwise  than  that  the  church  will  appear  cov- 
ered with  the  dast  of  the  earth,  and  robbed  of  hsr  heav- 
enly glory,  while  there  are  few  to  weep  over  the  woes  of 
Jerusalem  —  few  who  struggle  for  her  prosperity,  who 
are  affected  by  her  reproach,  or  are  jealous  for  her  lienor  1 
Let  us,  then,  be  duly  impressed  with  the  fact  that  in  this 
country  and  in  this  age,  trade  is  contending  with  religion 
for  the  universal  dominion  over  men's  minds,  hearts,  and 
consciences,  and  that,  according  to  present  appearances, 
there  is  no  small  danger  of  the  victory  being  gained  by 
the  former.     Cliristians,  take  the  alarm  ! 

Y.  Among  the  hindrances  to  a  spirit  of  earnest  piety 
must  be  mentioned  the  political  excitement  which  has  so 
extensively  prevailed  in  this  country  since  the  passing  of 
the  Reform  Bill,  and  the  repeal  of  the  Test  and  Corpora- 
tion Acts.  Both  these  measures  were  just  and  right ; 
and  what  is  politically  right,  cannot  in  itself  be  morally 
wrong  ;  they  only  conceded  rights  which  could  not  be  re- 
fused in  equity,  and  did  but  redress  wrongs  which  not  only 
degraded  the  party  that  endured  them,  but  also  disgraced 
that  which  inflicted  them,  and  thus  wiped  out  blots  which 
had  long  disfigured  the  British  constitution,  and  sullied 
the  page  of  English  history.  But  at  the  same  time, 
these  great  changes  brought  professing  Christians  into 
new  perils,  exposed  their  religion  to  fresh  dangers,  and 
rendered  it  necessary  to  give  a  greater  vigor  to  that 
faith  which  overcometh  the  world.  It  is  freely  admitted, 
as  has  been  a  thousand  times  repeated,  that  in  putting 
on  the  Christian,  we  do  not  put  off  the  citizen  ;  and  do 
not,  upon  entering  the  church,  retire  altogether  from  the 
world.  Religious  liberty  has  an  intimate  connection  with 
the  interests  of  religion,  for  the  freedom  of  the  Christian 
cannot  exist  without  the  liberty  of  the  man,  and  the  sta- 
bihty  and  progress  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  is  corsid- 
erably  affected  by  the  course  of  legislation.  Hence  it 
seems  neither  possible,  if  it  were  right,  nor  right,  if  it 
were  possible,  for  professing  Christians  altogether  to  quit 
the  arena  of  politics.    Still,  however,  it  must  be  confessed 


REPRESS    EARNESTNESS.  179 

(hat  it  requires  a  far  larger  measure  of  the  life  of  faith 
than  they  appear  to  have  possessed,  to  resist  the  paralyz- 
ing- influence  which  comes  from  such  a  quarter  over  the 
spirit  of  piety  ;  and  the  consequence  has  been  that  she 
has  come  out  of  the  scene  of  strife,  covered  with  its  dust, 
and  enfeebled  by  its  stru angles. 

In  such  times  as  those  of  the  great  conflict  agamst 
tyranny  and  popery,  in  the  reigi"  of  the  Stuarts,  when 
everything  dear  to  liberty  and  religion  was  at  stake,  the 
politicians  and  heroes  of  those  days  prepared  themselves 
for  the  senate  and  the  camp  by  the  devout  exercises  of 
the  closet  —  fed  the  flame  of  their  courage  at  the  fount  of 
their  piety  —  felt  that  they  must  be  saints  in  order  to  be 
patriots  —  and  expected  to  have  power  to  conquer  man, 
only  as  they  had  power  to  prevail  with  God.  It  might 
be  truly  said  of  them  it  was  not  that  their  religion  was 
pohtical,  but  their  politics  religious.  Everything  they 
did  was  consecrated  by  the  Word  of  God  and  prayer. 
They  were  wrong  in  some  things  they  did,  and  unwise 
in  some  things  they  said,  but  even  this  was  at  the  dictate 
of  conscience,  though  a  misguided  one.  There  were 
hypocrites  among  them  no  doubt,  for  it  was  hardly  possi- 
ble that  such  splendid  virtues  as  many  of  them  possessed 
should  not  be  admired  and  imitated  by  some  who  had 
not  the  grace  to  be  genuine  followers  :  and  an  uncouth 
cast  of  phraseology  and  some  modes  of  action  no  doubt 
marred  their  piety,  but  even  these  disfigm-ements  could 
not  conceal  their  manly  spirits.  Is  it  so  now  in  our 
struggles  for  objects  which,  though  of  some  consequence, 
are  of  less  importance  than  theirs  ?  Have  we  not  all  the 
ardor  of  political  excitement,  without  the  felt  necessity 
of  personal  religion "?  Db  we  realize  the  need  of  a  new 
baptism  of  the  Spirit,  to  prepare  us  for  political  contests, 
and  are  we  acting  as  if  we  were  convinced  that  we  must 
put  on  afresh  the  whole  armor  of  God  before  we  go  into 
the  battle-field  of  contending  paities  ?  Have  ive  made 
our  politics  religious,  instead  of  making  our  religion  po- 
litical ?  Have  our  pastors,  when  they  have  engaged  in 
these  matters,  prepared  themselves  for  it  b}'-  communion 
with  God  ;  and  have  our  senators,  before  they  have  ffone 
to  the  place  of  legislation,  and  our  councillors,  and  alder 


180 


THE    CAUSES    THAT 


men,  ere  they  have  entered  the  civic  hall,  fortified  them- 
selves, by  fasting-  and  prayer,  vidth  tie  spirit  of  religion  t 
Have  we  not,  on  the  contrary,  lost  in  piety  what  we 
have  gained  in  liberty,  and  felt  "  the  powers  of  the  world 
to  come  "  weakened  in  their  influence  over  us,  in  propor- 
tion as  we  have  had  a  share  in  wielding  the  power  of  the 
world  that  now  iai  As  dissenters,  have  we  not  been 
too  anxious  about  our  pohtical  influence  1  Or,  at  any  rate, 
have  we  not,  in  seeking  to  increase  this,  lost  something 
of  a  better  influence  which  we  should  have  labored  to 
preserve  1  Perhaps  it  may  be  thought  that  this  is  the 
day  of  struggle  for  great  principles  —  the  reform  of  great 
abuses  —  the  contest  for  lost  rights  —  and  the  settlement 
of  a  wise,  equitable,  and  permanent  constitution  of  things, 
and  that  though  the  spirit  of  saintly  and  seraphic  piety 
may  suffer  somewhat  during  the  conflict,  yet  the  time 
will  come,  by  and  by,  when,  having  conquered  an  honor- 
able peace,  she  shall  sit  down  amidst  the  trophies  that 
have  been  won,  to  heal  her  wounds,  and  recover  her 
strength.  I  wish  it  may  be  so  ;  but  what  if  by  venturirig 
unnecessarily  so  far  into  the  thick  of  the  affray,  she  should 
receive  wounds  that  are  incurable,  and  sink  into  a  state 
of  exhaustion  from  which  she  cannot  be  easily  or  speedily 
recovered  !  What  I  say,  then,  is  this,  that  if  we  must 
be  political,  —  and  to  a  certain  extent  we  must  be,  —  do 
not  let  us  smile  with  contempt  at  the  craven  fears,  or  the 
superstitious  apprehensions,  or  the  ignoble  whinings,  as 
they  will  be  called,  of  those  who  would  remind  us  that 
a  time  of  political  excitement  brings  on  a  state  of  things 
which  endangers  all  that  is  vital  in  godliness,  damps  the 
flame  of  devotion  in  the  soul,  and  tends  to  depress  religion 
in  our  churches. 

But  there  are  other  exciteme  its  against  which  we  have 
need  to  be  on  our  guard,  excitements  which  come  still 
more  wdthin  the  unquestioned  circle  of  religious  activity. 
It  is  well  for  us  to  remember  that  true  religion,  even  in 
its  most  vigorous  and  energetic  course  of  action,  is  of  a 
calm,  gentle,  and  equable  temperament.  It  resembles  its 
Divine  Author,  of  whom  it  is  said,  "  He  shall  not  strive 
nor  cry,  neither  sliall  any  man  hear  his  voice  in  the 
streets  ;"  it  loves  tlie  quiet  retreat  of  the  closet,  and 


REPRESS  EARNESTNESS.  181 

flourishes  amidst  the  stilhiess  of  meditation  ;  to  which  it 
adds  the  tranquil  pleasures  of  the  sanctuary,  and  the  soft 
and  soothing  delights  of  the  communion  of  saints.  It 
cannot  live,  and  grow,  and  flourish,  amidst  perpetual  agi- 
tation ;  and  it  is  ever  placed  in  a  dangerous  position,  in  an 
atmosphere  too  troubled,  and  in  an  element  uncongenial 
with  its  nature,  when  its  active  duties  are  pushed  so  far 
as  to  exclude  the  devotional  ones.  There  are  times  when 
it  must  come  out  of  its  retreat,  and  mingle  in  the  scenes 
of  agitation  and  excitement.  There  are  occasions  when 
it  must  join  the  crowd,  and  let  its  voice  be  heard,  not  only 
borne  upon  the  gale  of  popular  sentiment  and  feeling,  but 
swelling  it.  Yet  this  must  be  Imt  occasional,  and  not 
habitual.  If  we  look  back  upon  the  great  questions 
which  have  called  out  professing  Christians  into  the  scene 
of  agitation  during  the  last  half,  or  only  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury, how  many  subjects  of  a  public  nature  shall  we  find 
that  have  called  up  our  consideration,  feeling,  and  ac- 
tivity !  What  a  struggle  we  maintained,  in  what  crowds 
we  gathered,  and  to  what  a  pitch  of  enthusiasm  we  were 
wrought  up,  for  the  removal  of  that  foul  blot  upon  oui 
country's  history  —  that  heavy  curse  upon  humanity  —  - 
and  that  deep  disgrace  on  our  Christian  profession  —  the 
slave-trade  and  slavery !  In  what  a  troubled  element 
have  we  lived  of  late,  by  contending  against  the  various 
schemes  of  popular  education,  because  we  viewed  thorn 
as  unfriendly  to  our  liberties  as  dissenters,  and  hostile  to 
the  manly  independence  of  the  people  !  There  are  other 
topics,  which  need  not  be  specified,  tending  greatly  to  agi- 
tate the  church  of  Christ.  The  wonder,  perhaps,  is,  and 
it  is  a  c^e  for  gratitude,  that,  considering  these  things, 
so  much  personal  religion  still  remains.  Yet  it  becomes 
us  to  remember  that  as  this  is  an  element  uncongenial 
with  its  nature,  there  is  the  need  of  constant  watchful- 
ness, intense  solicitude,  and  earnest  prayer,  that  the 
churches,  while  contending  for  important  objects,  do  not 
let  down  the  tone  of  their  spirituality. 

VI.  Even  that  which  is  the  glory  of  the  church  in  this 
age,  and  the  hope  of  the  w^orld  —  which  is  one  of  the 
brightest  signs  of  the  times  —  and  the  loss  of  which 
would  bf  an  occasion  to  clothe  the  heavens  with  sackcloth. 


182  THE    CAUSES    THAT 

and  he  earth  wUh  mourning  —  I  mean  the  spirit  of  holy 
zeal  which  is  so  active,  — yes,  even  this,  for  want  of 
watchfulness,  care,  and  earnest  prayer,  may  become  a 
snare  and  a  mischief  to  personal  godliness.  We  have 
need  to  take  care  that  the  reproach  be  not  brought  against 
us,  that,  while  we  have  kept  the  vineyards  of  others,  our 
own  we  have  not  kept ;  that  our  zeal  has  been  main- 
tained, not  by  our  religion,  but  at  the  expense  of  it ;  that 
our  ardor  is  not  the  natural  putting  forth  of  the  vital 
energies  of  the  tree,  in  branches,  leaves  and  fruit,  but  an 
excrescence  upon  it,  which  draws  to  itself  the  sap  and 
impoverishes  the  genuine  produce.  Ours  is  the  age  of 
societies  —  the  era  of  organization —  the  day  of  the  plat- 
form, the  public  meeting,  the  orator,  the  speech,  and  the 
placard.  Everything  is  trumpeted,  blazoned,  shall  I  say 
puffed — not  only  our  Missionary  and  Bible  Society  meet- 
ings, but  our  ordination  ser\qces,  formerly  so  quiet  and  so 
solemn  ;  even  the  subjects  of  our  very  sermons,  the  most 
awful  verities  of  our  religion,  must  now  obtrude  them- 
selves in  glaring  placards,  and  stare  out  in  imposing 
capitals,  side  by  side  with  advertisements  of  plays  by 
celebrated  actors  —  concerts  by  renowned  singers  —  lec- 
tures by  itinerant  philosophers  —  and  f(  ats  of  agility  by 
equestrian  performers.  All  is  agitation,  excitement,  and 
publicity,  and  religion  is  one  subject  for  this  among  many 
others.  Something  of  all  this,  no  doubt,  is  proper,  and 
cannot  be  otherwise  managed  at  present,  and  ought 
not  to  be  discontinued  ;  but  then,  on  the  other  hand, 
much  of  it  is  contrary  to  the  dignity,  the  peacefulness, 
and  the  sanctity,  of  true  religion.  There  is  in  ^me  of 
our  religious  concerns  too  near  an  approach  l^far  to 
mountebankship  —  to  the  newspaper  puffing  of  noisy  and 
obtrusive  tradesmen  —  to  the  catch-penny  trickery  of 
quacks  and  impostors.  Let  us  consider  how  the  truly 
religious  spint — 'the  lofty,  heavenly,  devout  aspirations 
of  the  renewoJ  mind,  must  suffer  for  all  this  ;  how  true 
godliness  must  be  corrupted  and  changed  into  a  novelty- 
seeking,  wonder-loving  thing  ;  how  the  flame  of  devotion 
must  expire,  or  be  changed  into  the  fantastic  fires  round 
which  little  children  dance  in  sport. 

And  where  matters  are  not  in  this  fashion,  and  there  ia 


REPRESS    EARNESTNESS.  183 

nothing  b.it  the  mere  reiteration  of  public  meetings,  yet 
may  they  not  by  their  frequency  draw  off  the  attention 
from  personal  religion,  and  in  many  cases  become  a  sub- 
stitute for  it?  There  are  public  meetings,  and  resolutions, 
md  speeches,  and  anecdotes,  for  everything  —  and  we 
must  have  them,  and  even  be  thankful  for  them,  as  long 
ds  the  present  mode  of  carrying  on  our  schemes'  of  evan- 
gelization are  pursued.  But  then  let  us  take  care,  anxious, 
prayerful,  vigilant  care,  that  these  things  do  not  exert  an 
unfavorable  influence  upon  us,  —  by  producing  a  taste  for 
excitement  which  shall  make  the  ordinary  means  of  grace, 
and  Sabbath-day  opportunities,  tame,  flat,  and  insipid  — 
by  throwing  an  air  of  frivolity  over  our  whole  religion  — 
by  drawing  us  out  of  our  closets,  and  making  us  in  re- 
ligion resemble  our  Gallic  neighbors,  who  are  said  to 
know  little  of  home  enjoyment,  and  who  live  almost 
entirely  abroad  —  by  making  us  ostentatious  and  vain- 
glorious, instead  of  humble  and  retiring  —  by  impairing 
the  modesty  of  our  youth,  who  are  so  early  brought  into 
action  and  notice  —  by  corrupting  the  purity  of  our  mo- 
tives through  the  publicity  given  to  names  and  donations 
—  by  engrossing  that  time  w^hich  should  be  spent  in  pri- 
vate prayer,  reading  the  Scriptures,  and  meditation  —  in 
short,  by  converting  our  whole  religion  into  a  bustling 
activity  about  religion. 

VII .  The  danger  here  set  forth  is  not  a  little  in- 
creased, in  our  day,  by  the  modern  invention  and  exten- 
sive prevalence  of  certain  social  convocations,  —  such,  for 
instance,  as  tea-meetings.  Of  this  species  of  fraternal 
intercourse  our  fathers  were  ignorant,  and  so  were  we 
ourselves  till  within  the  last  few  years  ;  but  now  they 
are  the  prevailing  fashion  of  the  day,  and  are  become  so 
common,  and  in  such  frequent  demand,  as  to  have  led  in 
many  congregations  to  the  fitting  up  of  a  kind  of  culinary 
apparatus  for  their  celebration.  The  incorporation  of 
these  social  festivities  with  religious  matters,  though  it 
prevails  more  among  the  Methodists  and  Dissenters,  is 
not  exclusively  confined  to  these  bodies,  as  some  of  the 
clergy  of  the  Church  of  England  have  adopted  the  prac- 
tice. 

There  are  few  things  among  modern  customs  which 


184  THE    CAUSES    THAT 

more  need  the  vigilance,  caution,  and  supervision  of 
Christian  pastors  and  the  churches,  than  these  religio- 
convivial  entertainments.  There  can  be  no  harm  in  the 
abstract  idea  of  Christians  eating  and  drinking  together, 
especially  when  the  elements  of  the  feast  are  nothing 
more  expensive,  inebriating,  or  epicurean,  than  tea  and 
bread  and  butter,  or  cakes.  There  can  be  little  doubt 
that  the  primitive  Christians  had  their  social  meals,  and 
that  to  these  agapcE,  or  love  feasts,  as  they  were  called, 
Jude  refers,  where  he  speaks  of  some  who  were  '-spots 
upon  your  feasts  of  charity.*'  Out  of  this  custom  of 
having  meals  together,  which  were  made  appendages  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  grew-  the  corruptions  mentioned  in 
the  first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  The  practice  of  eat- 
ing and  drinking  together  for  purposes  of  unity  and 
charity  still  continued  in  the  early  churches,  till  it  was 
so  abused  to  carnal  purposes  as  to  call  for  ecclesiastical 
interference,  and  by  the  council  of  Laodicea,  in  the 
fourth  century,  it  was  forbidden  to  eat  and  drink,  or 
spread  tables,  in  the  house  of  God. 

There  is  little  fear,  it  may  be  presumed,  of  the 
modern  practice  of  tea-meetings  ever  being  abused  in 
such  manner  as  this  ;  yet  it  becomes  us  to  recollect  that 
all  corruptions  were  at  one  time  only  as  a  grain  of  mus- 
tard seed,  which,  sown  in  a  congenial  soil,  advanced 
after  the  first  insidious  germination  with  rapid  growth  to 
unsuspected  strength  and  stature.  It  is  not,  however,  to 
what  these  entertainments  may  become,  should  the  tea- 
meeting  be  exchanged  for  a  supper,  that  T  now  allude, 
but  to  what  they  are  already.  I  have  been  present  at 
some,  in  which  not  only  my  taste  as  a  man,  but  my  sen- 
sibilities as  a  Christian,  have  been  somewhat  offended.  I 
have  seen  the  house  of  God  turned  into  what  had  all  the 
air  of  a  place  of  public  amusement ;  I  have  beheld  grave 
ministers,  and  deacons,  and  members,  of  the  Christian 
shurch,  mingled  up  with  professors,  and  non-professors, 
of  religion,  young  men  and  women,  boys  and  girls,  in  all 
the  noisy  buzz,  and  perhaps  sometimes  approaching  to 
obstreperous  mirth,  at  one  of  these  meetings ;  I  have 
witnessed  young  women  of  the  working  classes,  dressed 


REPRESS    EARNESTNESS.  185 

up  as  ladies  for  the  occasion,  flirting  about  with  their 
beaiuv  of  the  other  sex ;  in  short  all  was  g]ee,  and  merri- 
ment, and  hilarity  —  and  this,  perhaps,  in  connection 
with  some  religious  object ;  the  anniversary  of  opening 
a  chapel  for  God's  worship,  or  the  celebration  of  a  min- 
ister's settlement  with  his  flock.  Probably  it  will  be 
said  by  some,  this  is  caricature.  I  am  conscious  it  does 
not  exceed  the  truth,  and  I  might  appeal  to  many  of  my 
brethren  who  have  witnessed  and  lamented  the  same 
things. 

To  come  to  what  is  no  less  fashionable,  but  perhaps 
somewhat  less  injurious  to  the  spirit  of  religion,  than 
these  things,  —  I  mean  the  soirees  of  the  present  day; 
these  also  require  some  caution  in  their  management, 
when  held  in  connection  with  religion,  lest  they  degener- 
ate into  a  species  of  worldly  amusement,  the  tendency  of 
which  will  be  to  depress  the  tone  of  piety,  and  to 
destroy  the  seriousness  of  mind  with  which  it  ought  ever 
to  be  regarded.  Now  I  know  that  it  is  difficult  to  prove 
logically  that  these  things  are  wrong,  and  I  do  not  mean 
to  assert  that  they  are ;  by  no  means ;  but  as  they  are 
the  increasing  custom  of  the  day,  and  are  liable  to  be 
abused,  either  by  being  too  frequent,  or  by  being  held  in 
a  spirit  of  worldliness,  I  think  the  church  of  Christ,  and 
for  them  I  write,  should  be  put  upon  their  guard,  and 
called  to  a  spirit  of  holy  vigilance.  I  know  that  the 
social,  the  cheerful,  and  even  the  tasteful,  are  sanctioned 
by  religion,  than  which  nothing  is  more  social,  cheerful 
and  tasteful ;  and  heaven  is  full  of  all  these  attributes. 
But,  then,  religion  is  at  the  same  time  no  less  character- 
ized by  solemnity,  sanctity  and  deep  seriousness,  than  it 
is  by  joy.  It  is  that  which  connects  the  soul  with  God, 
with  salvation,  with  heaven,  and  with  eternity  —  it  is 
the  conflict  of  a  soul  fighting  the  great  fight  of  faith,  and 
laying  hold  of  eternal  life  —  the  agony  of  a  heaven-born 
spirit,  reaching  after  celestial  bliss  —  the  training  of  an 
immortal  mind  for  the  beatific  vision  of  God  and  the 
Lamb  —  and,  therefore,  with  which  all  our  pursuits,  and 
our  pleasures  too,  should  be  in  strict  and  constant  har- 
mony. When  we  affirm,  as  we  most  truly  may,  that 
16 


186  THE    CAUSES    THAT 

"  Religion  never  was  designed 
To  make  our  pleasures  less," 

we  should,  at  the  same  time,  recollect  that  it  puts  aside 
many  of  the  pleasures  of  the  world  as  beneath  our  notice, 
if  not  injurious  to  our  character,  by  others  so  incompara- 
bly superior,  as  to  dispose  us,  by  a  natural  process,  to 
reject  the  drop  for  the  sake  of  the  fountain,  and  to  lay 
aside  the  taper  when  we  see  the  sun.  We  have  only  to 
consider  what  religion  is,  what  it  calls  to,  and  what  it 
requires  of  us,  and  leads  us  to,  and  is  intended  to  pro- 
pare  us  for,  to  see  at  once,  and  to  feel,  as  by  a  holy 
instinct,  what  kind  of  pleasures  it  should  lead  us  to  seek, 
and  what  to  refuse.  It  will  probably  be  asked,  whether 
I  would  suppress  all  these  modern  usages  of  tea-meet- 
ings, soirees,  and  social  entertainments.  I  reply,  cer- 
tainly not.  They  may  unite  much  instruction,  and  much 
spiritual  improvement,  with  as  much  innocent  social 
enjoyment.  But  then  I  would  watch  them,  with  an 
entire  conviction  that  they  may  by  possibility  come  to 
what  is  harmful.  I  would  limit  their  growth,  that  they 
do  not  become  too  frequent  and  too  trivial ;  and  I  would, 
where  religion  is  in  any  form  their  object,  take  care  that 
they  be  conducted  in  a  religious  spirit.  I  would  let 
religion,  with  all  her  cheerfulness,  but  yet  with  all  her 
seriousness  and  sanctity,  preside  over  the  scene,  and  dif- 
fuse her  blessed  influence  through  every  soul.  If,  as  is 
usually  the  case,  there  are  non-professors  and  uncon- 
verted persons  present,  I  would  let  them  see  how  happy 
Christians  are,  not  indeed  by  transferring  the  pleasures 
of  the  world  into  the  social  circle  of  the  redeemed,  but 
by  drawing  down  the  pleasures  of  heaven  into  the  church 
on  earth.  The  way  to  win  the  ungodly  to  religion  is 
not  by  showing  them  that  their  pleasures  are  ours,  but 
that  ours  are  infinitely  superior  to  any  which  they  know. 
A  Christian  ought  to  be,  and  would  be,  if  he  understood 
his  privileges,  the  very  type  of  bliss  in  himself,  and  an 
index  pointing  out  the  way  of  happiness  to  others. 

It  were  well  if  the  minister  were  always  present  at 
every  tea-meeting  held  amongst  any  section  of  his  flock, 
and  were  to  endeavor  to  repress  all  undue  levity  as  soon 
as  it  appeared, .  and  to   maintain   a   tone  of   rational, 


REPRESS    EARNESTNESS. 


187 


religious  and  agreeable  intercourse.  The  meetings  of 
Sunday  school  teachers  especially  require  his  presence 
and  his  influence,  not  only  to  make  them  feel  that  he  is 
in  fact  their  supreme  superintendent,  and  the  teacher  of 
teachers,  but  to  prevent  that  excessive  hilarity  which 
would,  perhaps,  in  some  cases,  be  likely  to  spring  up. 
And  the  pastor  might  also,  with  great  propriety  and 
utility,  hold  occasionally  such  meetings  with  the  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  and  thus  promote  the  unity  and  love 
of  his  flock  among  themselves,  and  their  attachment  to 
him.  I  adopt  this  plan  myself.  The  church  under  my 
care  is  large,  amounting  to  upwards  of  nine  hundred 
;members,  and  scattered  over  the  whole  expanse  of  this 
great  town  ;  and  the  public  business  and  correspondence 
devolving  upon  me,  in  common  with  my  brethren,  are  so 
oppressive  that  I  cannot  pretend  to  fill  up  the  measure  of 
pastoral  duty ;  and,  therefore,  to  remedy,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, this  defect,  I  invite  the  members  by  sections  to 
take  tea  with  me  in  the  vestry,  when  I  converse  a  little 
with  each  individual  separately,  and  then  hold  devotional 
exercises  with  them  all  collectively.  At  such  meetings 
nothing,  of  course,  but  what  is  s^^rious  and  devout  occurs ; 
all  is  solemn,  joyful  and  to  edification;  all  sanctified  by 
the  Word  of  God  and  prayer. 

The  object,  then,  of  all  these  remarks  will  be  seen  ; 
and  that  their  design  is  to  resist  the  tendency  which 
somw  of  our  modern  customs  have  to  diminish  the  seri- 
ousness, repress  the  earnestness,  and  altogether  change 
the  nature  of  true  religion  —  to  impair  the  dignity,  to 
lower  the  spirituality,  and  impede  the  usefulness  of  its 
professors  —  and  thus,  instead  of  making  the  people  of 
the  world  religious,  to  make  the  members  of  the  church 
worldly. 

YIII.  But,  perhaps,  there  are  few  things  which  tend 
more  effectually  to  repress  the  spirit  of  earnest  piety,  and 
to  keep  it  down  at  a  low  point,  than  those  fallacies 
about  its  nature,  and  that  perversion  of  acknowledged 
principles  and  facts  in  connection  with  it,  in  which  so 
many  professors  indulge.  We  will  mention  some  of 
these. 

Is  it  not  clear  that  many  persons  satisfy  themselves 


188  THE    CAUSES    THAT 

with  admitting  the  necessity  of  earnestness,  v>  /thout  evei 
once  endeavoring  to  obtain  it,  and  thus  put  their  con- 
viction and  admission  of  the  necessity  of  the  thing  in  the 
place  of  seeking  after  the  thing  itself?  We  talk  to  a 
cold  or  lukewarm  individual,  and  represent  to  him  the 
inconsistency  of  such  a  heartless  religion  as  his,  and  the 
indispensable  necessity  of  more  devotedness.  It  is  all,  and 
at  once,  admitted  ;  and  he  stops  the  conversation,  gets 
rid  of  the  subject,  and  evades  impression  and  conviction  by 
this  ready  assent.  And  thus,  by  such  a  facile,  assenting, 
unresisting  admission,  the  power  of  the  awful  truth 
that  he  is  in  a  dangerous  state,  seems  to  be  destroyed. 
It  were  better,  far  better,  that  these  lukewarm  profes- 
sors should  deny  the  necessity  of  more  intensity  of  think- 
ing, feeling,  and  acting,  that  they  may  be  reasoned  and 
expostulated  with,  and  made  to  think  by  force  of  argu- 
ment, and  to  feel  by  the  power  of  representation.  But 
in  this  easy  admission,  without  opposition,  question,  oi 
doubt,  the  strongest  representation  only  goes  in  to  be 
cushioned,  and  fall  asleep. 

And  then  the  applicability  of  the  subject  to  so  many, 
if  not  to  all,  is  another  cause  of  individual  evasion.  "  It 
concerns  /we,"  is  the  inward  thought,  "  not  more  than  all 
these  myriads  of  professors."  Its  absolute  importance 
as  applicable  to  any  one,  seems  dissipated  in  the  idea  of 
how  many  it  is  applicable  to.  There  is  some  unthinking 
feeling,  as  if  the  authority  and  importance  of  the  one 
great  admonition  to  earnestness  were  divided  into  innu- 
merable diminutive  shares,  with  but  inconsiderable  force 
in  each.  How  kindly  and  humbly  each  is  wilhng  not  to 
account  his  soul  more  important  than  that  of  any  of  his 
fellow-mortals  !  Yet  not  so  benevolent  either,  in  another 
view  of  the  matter ;  for  in  a  certain  indistinct  way,  he  is 
laying  the  blame  on  the  rest  of  mankind  ;  if  he  is  indif- 
ferent about  his  own  highest  interest,  "  they  are  under 
the  same  great  obligation  ;  in  their  manner  of  practically 
acknowledging  it,  they  are  my  pattern  ;  they  keep  me 
down  to  their  level.  If  their  shares  of  the  great  concern 
were  m.ore  worthily  attended  to,  perhaps  mine  would  be 
also.  One  has  fancied  sometimes  what  might  have  been 
the  effect,  in  the  selected  instances,  if  the  case  had  been 


REPRESS    EARNESTNESS.  189 

that  the  Sovereign  Creator  had  appointea  but  a  few  men, 
here  and  there  one,  to  an  immortal  existence,  or  a1  least 
declared  it  only  with  respect  to  them.  One  cannot  help 
imag-ining  them  to  feel  every  hour  the  impression  of  their 
sublime  and  awful  predicament!  But  why — why  is  it 
less  felt  a  sublime  and  awful  one,  because  the  rest  of  our 
race  are  in  it  too  I  Does  not  each  as  a  perfectly  distinct 
one  stand  in  the  whole  magnitude  of  the  concern,  and  in 
the  responsibility  and  the  danger,  as  absolutely  as  if  there 
were  no  other  one?  How  is  it  less  to  him  than  if  he 
stood  alone  ?  Their  losing  the  happy  interest  of  eternity 
will  not  be  that  he  shall  not  have  lost  it  for  himself.  If 
he  shall  have  lost  it,  he  will  feel  that  they  have  not  lost 
it  for  him.  He  should,  therefore,  now  feel  that  upon 
him  is  concentrated,  even  individually  upon  him,  the  en- 
tire importance  of  this  chief  concern." 

Foster,  in  his  lecture  on  "  Earnestness  in  Religion," 
from  which  this  extract  is  taken,  enumerates  other  falla- 
cies by  which  men  im.pose  upon  themselves  in  excuse  for 
lukewarmness  in  religion,  such  as  taking  a  perverse  ad- 
vantage of  the  obscurity  of  the  objects  of  our  faith,  and 
of  the  incompetence  of  our  faculties  to  apprehend  them 
—  the  recognition  of  the  obligations  of  religion  upon  our 
life,  as  a  whole,  without  making  them  bear  upon  all  the 
particular  parts  of  it  as  they  pass  —  and  a  soothing  self- 
assurance,  founded,  the  man  can  hardly  say  on  what,  that 
some  how  or  other,  and  at  some  time  or  other,  he  shall 
be  better  :  a  kind  of  superstitious  hope,  excited  by  some- 
particular  circumstance,  that  he  shall  yet  be  improved., 
although  at  the  time  he  makes  no  effort,  and  forms  no  in- 
tention, to  amend. 

There  is  no  cause  more  fatal,  in  depressing  true  piety^ 
among  its  professors,  than  the  notion  that  religion  is  to» 
be  regarded  rather  as  a  fixed  state,  than  a  progress  ;  a. 
point  to  be  reached,  rather  than  a  course  to  be  continually 
pursued.  It  is  both  ;  but  it  is  only  one  of  these  notions 
that  is  taken  up  by  many  persons.  Justification  does  in- 
troduce us  to  a  state  of  favor  with  God  ;  regeneration 
into  a  state  of  holy  life  ;  and  membership  into  a  state  of 
commanion  with  the  church  —  but  in  addition  to  this^ 
16* 


190  THE    CAUSES    THAI 

there  is  the  progress  of  sanct  Lfieation  —  the  ^oing  on  un- 
to perfection.  It  is  to  me  extremely  probable  that  many 
of  the  ministers  of  the  Evangelical  school  have  almost 
unconsciously,  or  inconsiderately,  given  countenance  to 
this  mistaken,  because  partial  view,  by  dwelling  too  ex- 
clusively on  the  mere  transition  from  a  state  of  death  to 
a  state  of  life.  They  have  shown  that  in  the  act  of  re- 
ceiving the  gospel,  a  man  is  at  once  changed  both  in  his 
moral  relation  and  moral  condition.  From  that  time  he 
becomes  another  man,  his  state  is  altered  —  he  passes 
from  death  unto  life.  But  then  this  state  is  to  manifest 
itself  by  a  progressive  development  of  the  new  principle. 
He  is  not  only  to  be  born,  but  he  is  to  grow.  It  is  falla- 
cious to  infer  the  growth,  when  we  cannot  infallibly  de- 
termine the  birth  :  it  is  much  safer  to  infer  the  birth  from 
the  growth.  The  New  Testament  everywhere  repre- 
sents the  Christian  life  by  things  denoting  growth  and 
progress  :  "  The  path  of  the  just  is  as  the  shining  light, 
which  shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day." 
There  is  first  the  babe,  then  the  young  man,  then  the 
father  in  Christ.  There  is  first  the  springing  of  the 
corn,  then  the  blade,  then  the  full  ear.  We  are  to 
abound  more  and  more  in  knowledge,  faith,  and  all  holi- 
ness. The  Scriptures  never  fail  to  keep  before  us  the 
idea  of  advancement. 

But  this  is  almost  entirely  overlooked  by  many  profess- 
ing Christians  ;  their  idea  is  to  get  into  a  state  of  justi- 
fication and  regeneration,  and  having  attained  that,  they 
are  content.  They  repose  in  it.  They  have,  as  they  im- 
agine, escaped  the  tempest,  and  reached  the  shore  in 
safety,  and  there  they  stand,  exulting  at  best  in  their  de- 
liverance, without  attempting  to  penetrate  and  possess 
the  country  they  have  reached.  Their  feeling  is,  "I  am 
converted,  and  am  in  the  church  ;"  and  there  they  stop. 
From  the  time  they  are  received  into  fellowship,  their  so- 
licitude begins  to  abate  ;  from  that  point  they  sink  down 
into  the  repose  of  those  who  are  at  ease  in  Zion  —  they 
have  received  their  certificate  of  personal  religion,  and  are 
satisfied.  There  is  no  great  anxitty  to  grow  in  grace,  to 
be  ever  advancing  in  the  divine  life,  and  to  be  ever  making 
iresh  attainments  in  holiness.     If  you  see  them  ten  or 


REPRESS    EARNESTNESS.  191 

twenty  years  after  their  profession  was  .itst  made,  you 
find  them  where  you  left  them,  or  even  gone  back  from 
first  love  ;  their  religion  has  had  some  kind  of  motion, 
but  it  has  been  stationary  or  circular,  not  locomotive  ;  it 
has  gone  upon  hinges,  not  upon  wheels,  or  if  upon  the 
latter,  they  have  moved  in  a  circle,  not  on  a  line  Yet 
what  invaluable  means  of  culture  they  have  had  ;  what 
auspicious  Sabbaths  they  have  spent,  what  sermons  they 
have  heard,  what  books  they  have  read  !  Still  their  tem- 
pers are  as  unsubdued,  their  corruptions  as  unmortified, 
and  their  g-races  as  stunted,  as  they  were  at  first.  No 
pupils  make  so  little  proficiency  as  those  which  are 
educated  in  the  school  of  Christ ;  in  no  case  is  so  much 
instruction,  so  much  discipline,  bestowed  in  vain ;  no- 
where is  improvement  so  little  perceptible  as  here.  How 
is  this  1  Just  because  these  persons  are  laboring  under 
the  fatal  mistake  of  their  having-  come  into  a  state; 
reached  a  standing  point,  not  a  starting  point ;  gained  an 
advantage,  which  render  solicitude  and  progress  unneces- 
sary. They  do  not  actually  admit  this  in  words,  or  even 
in  thought,  but,  unconsciously  to  themselves,  this  is  the 
secret  working  of  their  minds. 

Akin  to  this  is  the  sad  abuse  which  is  made  of  the 
humiliating  fact  that  there  is  no  perfection  upon  earth  ; 
as  if  this  should  reconcile  us  to  all  kinds  and  to  all  degrees 
of  imperfection.  It  is  astonishing,  and  somewhat  pain- 
ful, to  observe  with  what  indifference,  and  almost  satis- 
faction, this  reflection  upon  our  fallen  humanity  is  made 
by  some  persons,  as  if  they  were  glad  to  find  in  this  ad- 
mission a  cover  and  an  excuse  for  all  their  faults.  Under 
the  pretext  that  there  is  no  perfection  they  do  things  at 
which  a  tender-hearted  Christian,  a  professor  with  a  del- 
icate sensibihty  of  conscience,  would  be  shocked.  They 
forget  that  the  command  of  God  is  to  "  perfect  holiness 
in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  ;"  "  to  go  on  unto  perfection  :" 
to  "  be  perfect  ;"  and  that  he  who  does  not  desire  to  be 
perfect,  does  not  seek  to  be  so,  and  does  nof  lament  his 
imperfections,  and  labor  to  remove  as  many  of  them  as 
possible,  discovers  a  heart  not  yet  brought  into  subjection 
to  the  authority  of  Christ.  The  true  earnestness  of  piety 
is  an  intense  desire  and  laboi  after  a  perfect  conformity 


192  THE    CAUSES    THAT 

to  the  revealed  will  of  God.  The  individual  who  haa 
this  mind  in  him  can  tolerate  no  imperfections,  but  sin- 
cerely wishes  to  discover  all  his  faults  ;  he  searches  his 
heart,  and  implores  God  to  search  it,  in  order  that  he 
may  find  them  out,  and  put  them  away.  He  knows  that 
the  bliss  of  heaven  arises  in  great  part  from  the  perfec- 
tion of  holiness,  and  he  wishes  to  approach  as  near  to 
heaven  upon  earth  as  he  can,  by  coming  as  near  as  pos- 
sible to  perfect  holiness. 

What  a  different  aspect  would  the  church  of  God 
present  to  the  world,  and  in  what  power  and  glory  would 
its  professors  of  religion  appear,  if  it  consisted  of  a  mul- 
titude of  men  and  women  all  striving  and  struggling  after 
a  perfect  conformity  to  that  law  which  makes  it  our  duty 
to  love  God  with  all  our  heart,  and  our  neighbors  as  our- 
selves—  all  anxious  to  come  as  near  to  a  resemblance  of 
God,  and  to  have  as  much  of  the  mind  of  Christ,  as  could 
be  attained  by  any  one  out  of  heaven  — all  hunting  after 
their  short-comings  and  offences,  and  glad  of  any  help 
-.0  discover  them,  in  order  that  they  might  be  put  away  — 
dll  stimulating  and  helping  each  other  on  in  the  career  of 
moral  improvement  —  all  watching  and  praying  for  the 
aid  of  the  Divine  Spirit  to  help  their  infirmities  —  what  a 
scene,  I  say,  would  then  be  exhibited  to  an  astonished 
world,  on  which  the  angels  of  God  would  delight  to 
gaze  !  What  less  than  this  is  the  law  of  Christ's  church  ? 
In  what  less  interesting  and  important  aspect  than  this 
ought  the  church  of  Christ  to  be  seen  1 

It  is  not  improbable  that  a  dread  of  singularity,  a  fear 
of  breaking  through  the  barrier  of  conventionality,  a  dis- 
like o' being  thought  to  be  setting  up  as  a  reformer,  have 
kept  many  back  from  seeking  a  higher  degree  of  piety 
than  has  been  exhibited  around  them.  Theylrave  been 
conscious  of  prevailing  defects,  and  of  their  own  also, 
and  under  the  stern  rebuke  of  an  enlightened  conscience, 
have  determined  to  advance  to  a  more  marked  separation 
from  the  world,  and  a  higher  tone  of  spiritual  feeling. 
From  this  resolution,  however,  they  have  been  immedi- 
ately and  effectually  deterred,  by  an  apprehension  of  the 
remarks,  perhaps  the  sneers,  they  would  bring  upon 
themselves  from  the  lukewarm  and  the  worldly,  who 


REPRESS    EARNESTNESS.  193 

would  taunt  them  for  setting  up  as  reformers  of  their 
brethren,  and  as  affecting  the  odor  of  superior  sanctity. 
This  apprehension  is  strengthened  in  many  persons  by 
too  low  an  estimate  of  their  own  influence.  "  What  can 
J  do  V  they  say  ;  "  T  who  am  so  obscure  and  uninfluen- 
tial,  to  stay  the  torrent  of  worldly-mindedness  which  is 
flowing  through  the  church?  My  example  can  do  noth- 
ing for  the  good  of  others,  and  can  only  bring  opposition, 
reproach  and  reproof,  upon  myself.  I  see  the  miserably 
low  condition  of  professors  around  me,  and  I  feel  and 
lament  my  own  ;  happy  should  I  be  to  see  a  healthier 
state  of  religion  in  our  church,  and  gladly  would  I  follow 
in  the  wake  of  those  who  would  attempt  to  improve  it, 
but  I  cannot  attempt  this  myself.  I  should  only  be 
laughed  at  as  a  person  affecting  what  I  did  not  possess, 
inflated  by  vanity,  or  cherishing  the  pride  of  singular- 
ity." Let  such  persons  remember  that  whatever  may  be 
thought  of  their  conduct  by  others,  v^^hatever  influence  it 
may  have  upon  them,  or  whatever  opposition  it  may 
provoke,  they  are  not  to  take  these  matters  into  account  : 
convinced  of  their  short-comings,  they  are  intensely  and 
laboriously  to  seek  to  have  them  made  up.  Whether 
others  will  applaud  or  censure,  follow  or  resist,  approve 
or  condemn,  they  are  to  go  on.  No  dread  of  ridicule 
or  reproach  should  deter  them  from  growing  in  grace. 
They  must  dare  to  be  singular  ;  venture  to  go  alone  ; 
determine,  whether  men  will  bear  or  forbear,  to  go  for- 
ward. The  church  can  never  be  improved  if  this  spirit 
of  timidity  prevails.  There  could  have  been  neither 
martyr  nor  reformer  upon  these  craven  principles.  I  tell 
the  man  who  will  be  in  advance  of  his  generation,  he 
will  be  the  object  of  their  envy,  their  suspicion,  and  their 
ill-will  ;  and  there  will  be  no  exemption  from  such  treat- 
ment for  the  professing  Christian  who  aims  at  a  higher 
standard  of  piety  than  he  sees  in  the  church  of  which  he 
is  a  member. 

The  people  of  the  world  will  be  less  envious,  jealous, 
and  spheful,  towards  a  neighbor  who  excels  them  in  hon- 
esty and  integrity,  than  inconsistent  and  worldly-minded 
professors  will  be  towards  a  fellow-member  who  has 
more  piety  than  they  have  ;  just  because  their  conscience 


194  THE    CAUSES    THAT 

having  a  little  more  light,  reflected  from  the  exampio 
and  expostulation  of  their  more  consistent  neighbor,  is 
thus  rendered  more  sensitive,  and  is  more  easily  wounded. 
Such  persons  are  more  censorious  of  superior  holiness, 
and  more  tolerant  of  great  imperfections,  than  any  others  ; 
and  he  who  would,  by  avoiding  their  sins,  rebuke  them, 
though  it  be  in  love,  is  sure  to  be  the  object  of  their  dis- 
like. But  we  must  not  be  thus  stopped  in  our  endeavors 
after  higher  attainments  in  piety.  We  must  follow  out 
Our  convictions,  endeavoring  to  live  up  to  the  standard 
set  before  us  in  God's  Word,  and  not  suffer  ourselves  to 
be  deterred  from  our  duty  by  the  opinion  of  our  fellovsr 
creatures,  or  fellow-professors.  Our  condemnation  will 
be  the  greater,  if,  after  our  attention  has  been  drawn  to 
the  subject,  and  our  conscience  awakened,  we  allow  our- 
selves to  be  turned  aside  by  the  fear  of  either  the  frowns 
or  the  sneers  of  others.  God  will  help  us  if  we  are  will- 
ing to  be  helped,  and  raise  us  above  all  that  fear  of  man 
which  bringeth  a  snare.  No  one  who  is  really  in  earnest 
to  grow  in  grace,  and  to  attain  to  more  eminent  piety, 
will  be  left  to  struggle  on,  unassisted  in  his  endeavors. 
Divine  grace  will  be  made  sufficient  for  him,  and  he 
shall  be  successful  in  his  efforts. 

At  the  same  time,  he  must  remember  that  his  humility, 
meekness,  and  gentleness,  must  be  no  less  apparent  than 
his  other  excellences.  It  must  be  earnestness  itself,  and 
not  the  appearance  of  it  merely,  that  he  seeks  and  man- 
ifests ;  and  it  must  be  for  its  own  sake,  and  not  for  the 
sake  of  gaining  the  character  of  it.  There  must  be 
nothing  even  remotely  approaching  to  the  contemptuous 
disposition  which  says,  "  Stand  by,  I  am  holier  than 
thou."  No  affected  airs  of  superior  piety  —  no  offensive 
obtrusion  of  our  example  —  no  supercilious  rebukes  — 
no  bitter  censoriousness  —  no  angry  reproaches  —  but  a 
piety,  which,  hkethe  sun,  shall  be  seen  rather  than  heard, 
and  shall  diffuse  its  influence  in  a  noiseless  manner,  and 
almost  without  drawing  attention  to  its  source.  Such  a 
profession  must  do  good,  however  humble  the  station  in 
life  of  him  who  makes  it ;  and  if  all  who  are  convinced 
by  these  pages  of  their  own  deficiencies,  as  w^ell  as  of 
those  of  the  church  at  large,  shall  attempt  to  make  up 


REPRESS    EARNESTNESS.  195 

the  latter  by  beginning  with  the  former,  this  volume  will 
not  have  been  written  in  vain. 

IX.  This  enumeration  of  the  causes  that  tend  to  de- 
press and  injure  the  spirit  of  vital  godliness  would  be 
incomplete  if  I  did  not  mention  the  modern  taste  for  fre- 
quenting watering  places  and  travelling  abroad.  Having 
dwelt  on  this  at  length  in  "  The  Christian  Professor," 
under  the  chapter,  "The  Professor  away  from  /fowie," 
I  shall  only  briefly  advert  to  the  subject  here.  There 
are  few  things  which  have  had  a  more  unhappy  influence 
upon  the  middling  and  upper  classes  of  professing  Chris- 
tians than  this.  Even  those  annual  visits  to  the  coast, 
or  the  inland  places  of  fashionable  resort,  now  so  prev- 
alent, are  sufficiently  pernicious  in  their  influence  to  put 
all  who  have  any  regard  to  their  eternal  welfare  most 
seriously  upon  their  guard,  against  the  temptations  which 
are  thus  presented,  by  the  sudden  and  complete  transition 
from  employment  to  idleness  —  by  the  removal  of  those 
salutary  restraints  with  which  they  are  surrounded  in  the 
habitations  where  they  statedly  reside,  and  the  mixed 
characters  of  the  society  into  which  they  are  almost 
necessarily  thrown  —  by  the  amusements  which  are  there 
most  prevalent  and  fashionable  —  by  the  general  air  of 
dissipation  which  is  thrown  over  the  whole  scene  —  by 
the  interruption  of  their  usual  habits  of  devotion,  private, 
domestic,  and  social  —  and  by  the  indisposedness  w^hich 
is  the  consequence  of  all  this,  for  the  seasons  and  exer- 
cises of  religion.  These  are  no  imaginary  dangers,  as 
the  experience  of  all  who  have  adopted  this  practice 
must  attest,  and  as  the  total  apostasy  of  some,  and  the 
backsliding  of  many,  will  corroborate. 

This  danger  is  of  course  increased  by  foreign  travel,  in 
numerous  ways  —  by  a  removal  from  the  usual  means  of 
grace  —  by  the  frequent  desecration  of  the  Sabbath  — by 
associations  oftentimes  with  worldly-minded  companions 

—  by  a  strain  upon,  and  tampering  with,  co'iscience,  in 
reference  to  many  matters  of  very  questional  e  propriety 

—  and  by  the  familiar  gaze  of  mere  curiosity  upon  scenes 
and  customs  known  to  lae  sinful.  In  all  these  ways  ma 5 
the  spirituality  of  our  minds,  the  tenderress  of  our  con- 
science, and  the  delicacy  of  our  moral  sensibilities,  'ie 


196  THE    CAUSES    THAT 

impaired  by  those  continental  tours  which  are  so  fashion 
able  and  so  fascinating-.  Their  influence,  no  doubt,  has 
been  mischievous  to  an  extent  of  which  we  are  not  aware, 
among  many  whose  religion  was  already  of  a  feeble  and 
a  doubtful  kind.  Nor  have  more  vigorous  spiritual  con- 
stitutions escaped  the  influence  of  the  malaria  of  these 
infected  regions.  But  as  the  thing  is  lawful  in  itself,  and 
only  sinful  when  abused,  let  us,  if  disposed  thus  to 
recreate  our  minds,  and  gratify  our  curiosity  which  we 
innocently  may,  recollect  that  we  are  about  to  expose 
ourselves  to  peril,  earnestly  pray  for  grace  to  preserve 
us,  and  watch  as  well  as  pray  that  we  enter  not  into 
temptation.  As  our  best  preservative  from  home,  and  at 
home  —  as  one  of  the  most  eflfectnal  means  of  resisting 
temptation  and  promoting  holiness,  "  Let  us  consider 
ourselves  under  the  all-seeing  eye  of  the  Divine  Majesty, 
as  in  the  midst  of  an  infinite  globe  of  light,  which  com- 
passeth  us  about  both  behind  and  before,  and  pierceth  to 
the  innermost  recesses  of  the  soul.  The  sense  and  the 
remembrance  of  the  Divine  presence  is  the  most  ready 
and  eflfectual  means,  both  to  discovering  what  is  unlaw- 
ful, and  to  restrain  us  from  it.  There  are  some  things 
which  a  person  could  make  a  shift  to  palliate  or  defend, 
and  yet  he  dares  not  look  Almighty  God  in  the  face,  and 
adventure  upon  them.  If  we  look  unto  him  we  shall  be 
lightened ;  if  we  '  set  him  always  before  us,  he  will 
guide  us  with  his  eye,  and  instruct  us  in  the  way  wherein 
we  should  walk.'  "  * 

X.  The  last  thing  I  shall  mention  as  tending  to  depress 
the  spirit  of  true  religion,  is  the  spirit  of  sectarianism, 
which  so  extensively  prevails  among  the  various  sections 
of  the  Christian  Church. 

By  the  spirit  of  sectarianism,  I  mean  that  overweening 

*  Scougal's  "Life  of  God  in  the  Soul  of  Man."  Would  God 
the  whole  generation  oi  the  professors  of  true  religion  of  this 
day,  and  of  every  age,  would  read  this  most  beautiful  and  in- 
comparable treatise  on  practical  religion !  This  is  the  religion 
we  want,  and  of  which  we  have  too  little.  There  is  an  edition 
of  Scougal's  whole  works,  in  one  small  volume,  among  Collins* 
Select  Authors,  enriched  by  an  inestimable  Introductory  Essay, 
by  that  able  and  eminent  man,  the  late  Rev.  Richard  Watson. 


REPRESS    EARNESTNESS.  197 

attachment  to  our  distinctive  opinions  on  doctrine,  gov- 
ernment, and  sacrament,  which  leads  to  a  disproportion- 
ate and  often  a  distempered  zeal  for  upholding-  and  pro- 
mulgating them  ;  and  to  a  state  of  alienation,  if  not  of 
hostility,  towards  those  who  differ  from  us,  notwithstand- 
ing their  agreement  with  us  in  still  more  fundamental  and 
important  matters.  This  spirit  of  exclusiveness,  which 
shuts  out  from  our  affection,  sympathy,  and  communion, 
all  those,  however  evangelical  in  sentiment  and  holy  in 
conduct,  who  are  not  within  the  pale  of  our  church,  and 
which  would  seem  to  restrict  all  excellence  to  our  own 
body,  is,  whatever  its  abettors  may  imagine,  not  only 
anti-social,  but  positively  anti-Christian.  It  is  the  es- 
sence of  bigotry  ;  the  germ  of  intolerance  ;  and  in  its 
last  development,  the  spirit  of  persecution. 

That  such  a  spirit  of  sectarianism  as  this  does  prevail, 
is  the  confession  and  the  lamentation  of  all  catholic- 
minded  Christians.  It  might  seem  as  if  this  spirit  were 
itself  an  indication  and  an  operation  of  earnestness.  So  it 
is  of  the  earnestness  of  party,  but  not  of  piety.  Saul  of 
Tarsus  had  no  lack  of  this  when  he  was  hastening  to  Da- 
mascus, and  breathing  out  threatening  and  slaughter  against 
the  disciples  of  Jesus  ;  nor  the  Popish  inquisitors  in  exter- 
minating heretics  by  fire  and  sword  ;  but  who  will  call  this 
the  earnestness  of  true  religion  ?  It  is  zeal,  but  kindled 
by  a  spark  from  the  flaming  pit  below.  Zeal  for  lesser 
matters,  to  the  neglect  of  greater  ones,  and  which  pro- 
duces more  dislike,  or  even  indifference,  to  those  who 
differ  from  us  in  these  minor  points,  than  friendship, 
sympathy,  and  love  to  them,  on  the  ground  of  those 
more  important  ones  on  which  we  are  united,  is  an 
antagonistic  feeling  to  true  piety.  This  is  easily  demon- 
strated.—  It  is  an  injury  and  opposition  to  that  truth 
which  is  the  basis  of  all  religion,  inasmuch  as  it  depresses 
its  more  momentous  doctrines,  and  gives  an  undue  eleva- 
tion to  its  lesser  ones.  — It  is  at  open  war  with  that  love 
which  is  the  greatest  of  the  Christian  graces,  the  very 
essence  of  religion,  and  without  which  all  else  is  but  as 
sounding  brass  and  a  tinkling  cymbal .  —  It  introduces  a 
foreign  and  corrupting  element  into  true  godhness,  and 
17  ' 


198  THE    CAUSES    THAT 

envenoms  it  with  the  poison  of  mahce  and  \a  rath. — It 
diverts  attention  from  primary  to  secondary  matters,  and 
exhausts  the  energies  of  the  S'lul  in  bringing  forth  the 
fruits  of  contention,  instead  of  the  peaceable  fruits  of 
righteousness. — It  cuts  off  the  channels  of  sympathy 
between  the  different  sections  of  the  universal  church, 
and  thus  deprives  each  pail  of  the  benefit  of  what  may 
be  found  in  the  way  of  example,  spiritual  literature,  and 
cooperation,  in  the  other  sections  of  the  great  fellowship 
of  believers.  —  It  tends  to  perpetuate  our  strifes  and  divi- 
sions, by  extinguishing  the  spirit  by  which  alone  we  are 
hkely  to  come  to  ultimate  agreement.  —  It  fosters  in 
many  a  disposition  to  infidelity,  by  disparaging  the  excel- 
lence and  weakening  the  power  of  true  religion. — It 
represses  the  spirit  of  prayer,  and  thus  is  a  barrier  to  the 
spread  of  the  gospel  in  the  world  —  and  it  grieves  the 
Holy  Spirit  of  God,  whereby  he  is  induced  to  withhold 
his  gracious  influence. 

Such  are  the  consequences  of  sectarianism,  and  can 
any  one  doubt  whether  this  is  inimical  to  religion  ?  It 
may  substitute  for  the  fervor  of  a  pure  zeal,  a  fxCry  tur- 
bulence ;  but  this  is  not  genuine  piety  ;  this  is  not  the 
true  vital  warmth  of  a  soul  in  full  health,  but  the  fever 
of  a  diseased  and  morbidly  restless  spirit.  It  is  high 
time  to  stop  the  progress  and  destroy  the  power  of  this 
hateful  temper.  If  we  have  not  religion  enough  to  van- 
quish sectarianism,  sectarianism  will  acquire  more  and 
more  power  to  vanquish  religion.  Let  charity  arise  into 
the  ascendant.  We  cannot  do  a  better  thing,  either  for 
the  church,  or  for  the  w^orld,  than  to  seek  for  a  greater 
degree  of  love  among  the  friends  of  Christ.  How  has 
religion  been  tarnished  in  her  beauty,  weakened  in  her 
influence,  and  limited  in  her  reign,  by  these  contentions 
among  her  friends  !  Success,  therefore,  be  to  those  efforts 
which  are  now  being  made,  by  the  sons  of  peace,  to  bring 
the  scattered  and  alienated  followers  of  the  Lamb  into  a 
closer  union  with  each  other  ;  and  whether  the  Evangel- 
ical Alliance  shall  continue  to  exist  or  not,  in  its  present 
forr'.  and  constitution,  all  good  men  must  join  in  the  long- 
ings and  the  prayers  of  our  Divine  Lord,  w'hen  he  thus 


REPRESS    EARNESTNESS.  199 

breathed  out  his  heart  for  his  disciples,  "  That  they  all 
may  be  one ;  as  thou  Father  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee  ; 
that  they  all  may  be  one  in  us  :  that  the*  world  may  be- 
lieve that  thou  hast  sent  me." 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

INDUCEMENTS  TO  EARNESTNESS. 

Inducements!  Can  it  be  necessary  to  offer  these? 
What !  is  not  the  bare  mention  of  religion  enough  to 
rouse  every  soul  who  understands  the  meaning  of  that 
momentous  word,  to  the  greatest  intensity  of  action? 
Who  needs  to  have  spread  out  before  him  the  demon- 
strations of  logic,  or  the  persuasions  of  rhetoric,  to  move 
him  to  seek  after  wealth,  rank,  or  honor  ?  Who,  when 
an  opportunity  presents  itself  to  obtain  such  possessions, 
requires  anything  more  than  an  appeal  to  his  conscious- 
ness of  their  value  to  engage  him  in  the  pursuit  ?  The 
very  mention  of  riches  suggests  at  once  to  man's  cupidity 
a  thousand  arguments  to  use  the  means  of  obtaining  them. 
What  intense  longings  rise  in  the  heart !  What  pictures 
crowd  the  imagination  !  What  a  spell  comes  over  the 
whole  soul !  And  why  is  there  less,  yea,  why  is  there 
not  intensely  more,  than  all  this,  at  the  mention  of  the 
word  religion,  that  term  which  comprehends  heaven  and 
earth  —  time  and  eternity  —  God  and  man  —  wit]\in  its 
sublime  and  boundless  meaning?  K  we  were  a.3  we 
ought  to  be,  it  would  be  enough  only  to  -whisper  in  the 
ear  that  word  of  more  than  magic  power,  ^o  engage  all 
our  faculties,  and  all  their  energies,  in  the  most  resolute 
purpose,  the  most  determined  pursuit,  and  the  most  entire 
self-devotement.  Inducements  to  earnestness  in  religion  ! 
Alas,  how  low  we  have  sunk,  how  far  have  we  been  par- 
alyzed, to  need  to  be  thus  stimulated  !  But  since  this  is 
our  state,  we  are  at  no  loss  for  considerations  which,  with 
every  reflecting  mind,  will  be  found  to  supply  motives 
of  irresistible  potency. 


200  INDTTCEMEarTS 

I.  How,  without  such  a  state  of  mind ,  can  we  be  satr 
isfied  that  we  have  any  personal  reUgion  at  all  ?  Where 
is  our  evidence  °  that  we  are  sincere  Christians,  if  we  are 
not  earnest  Christians  1  Understand  —  consider  —  ponder, 
what  it  is  we  are  seeking  after  and  contending  for.  Let 
us  recollect  what  we  are  professedly  endeavoring  to  escape 
from  —  nothing  less  than  eternal  perdition  —  and  not  in 
earnest  to  flee  Irom  the  wrath  to  come?  Did  any  one, 
besides  Lot's  wife,  to  whom  we  are  directed  for  a  warn- 
ing, flee  from  a  burning  house  with  lukewarmness  and 
half  a  heart  ?  Let  us  consider  what  we  are  professedly 
making  the  object  of  desire  and  pursuit  —  even  glory, 
honor,  immortality,  and  eternal  life  —  and  not  earnestly 
seeking  it?  Did  ever  mortal  yet,  whose  ambition  led 
him  to  combat  for  a  crown,  engage  with  languor  and 
supineness  for  the  glittering  prize  1  Is  "  the  salvation 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  with  eternal  glory,"  an  object 
so  inconsiderable,  and  of  such  little  value,  that  a  person 
can  really  be  supposed  to  be  pursuing  it,  though  he  is  a 
stranger  to  any  ardor  of  soul  in  reference  to  it?  Is 
religion  a  contradiction  to  the  usual  maxim  that  a  man's 
activity  in  endeavoring  to  obtain  an  object  is,  if  he  under- 
stand it,  in  exact  proportion  to  the  value  and  importance 
which  he  attaches  to  it?  Are  heaven,  and  salvation,  and 
eternity,  the  only  matters  that  shall  reverse  this  maxim, 
and  make  lukewarmness  the  rule  of  action?  It  cannot 
be  ;  it  is  impossible  ;  if  the  supine  and  careless  professor 
be  sincere,  not  only  must  all  the  principles  of  revelation 
be  cancelled,  but  all  those  of  our  own  nature  be  sub- 
verted. 

Without  earnestness  you  are  not  safe  for  eternity,  and 
ought  not  to  conclude  that  you  are.  Doubt  and  suspicion 
ought  to  rise  at  once  in  your  mind,  and  you  ought  to  fear 
you  have  never  yet  started  for  the  incorruptible  crown  of 
life  and  glory.  You  are  in  the  church  only  nominally. 
Your  profession,  it  is  to  be  feared,  is  hollow  and  false,  and 
will  be  found  utterly  unavailing  at  last.  You  will  add  to 
the  already  countless  multitude  that  have  gone  down  to 
the  pit  with  a  lie  in  their  right  hand,  and  who  prove  that 
though  men  may  be  lost  without  earnestness,  they  cannot 
be  saved  without  it.     Would  that  I  could  alarm  the  care* 


TO    EARNESTNESS.  201 

less,  and  awaken  the  slumbering-  professor  !  By  what 
thunder  shall  I  break  in  upon  your  deep  and  dangerous 
sleep?  0,  that  it  were  possible  to  reverberate  in  your 
ears  the  echoes  of  the  wailings  of  those  who  are  mourning, 
in  the  bottomless  pit,  the  sin  and  folly  of  an  insincere 
profession  of  religion  ! 

Anl  then,  even  where  there  is  sincerity,  and,  therefore, 
some  legree  of  this  intensity  of  mind,  still  it  is  your  duty 
and  privilege  to  go  on  increasing  it.  The  more  devoted 
you  are,  the  clearer  is  your  evidence  of  personal  interest 
in  the  blessings  of  salvation.  Your  doubts  and  fears  w'ill 
be  dissipated  by  such  a  state  of  mind,  like  the  mists  and 
clouds  of  the  morning  flying  off  before  the  rising  sun. 
You  will  have  the  full  consciousness  that  you  have  be- 
lieved in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  your  joy  and  peace  in 
believing,  by  your  love  to  God,  by  your  longings  after 
holiness,  by  your  spirituality,  heavenly-mindedness  and 
habitual  communion  with  God.  Your  religion  will  be 
self-evident  to  yourself  and  to  others.  You  will  feel 
that  your  citizenship  is  in  heaven,  and  that  you  belong 
more  to  another  world  than  to  this.  You  will  need  no 
voice  from  heaven,  no  messenger  from  God,  no  searching 
for  your  name  in  the  book  of  God's  decrees,  to  convince' 
you  that  you  have  passed  from  death  unto  life.  The  act- 
ings of  the  new,  the  hidden  and  spiritual  hfe,  will  be  too 
strong  and  steady  to  leave  you  in  any  doubt  that  the  prin- 
ciple of  vitality  is  within.  You  will  have  the  witness  in 
yourself,  and  its  testimony  will  be  too  loud  and  unequiv- 
ocal to  be  unheard  or  mistaken. 

Do,  do  consider,  then,  ye  professors  of  religion,  what 
it  is  about  w^iich  this  assurance  is  to  be  obtained  —  it  is 
the  salvation  of  your  immortal  soul !  O  revolve  often  and 
deeply  the  infinite  realities  about  which  religion  is  con- 
versant !  Most  subjects  may  be  made  to  appear  with 
greater  or  less  dignity,  according  to  the  greater  or  less  de- 
gree of  importance  in  which  the  preacher  places  them. 
Pompous  expressions,  bold  figures,  lively  ornaments  of 
eloquence,  may  often  supply  a  want  of  this  dignity  in 
the  subject  discussed.  But  every  attempt  to  give  impor- 
tance to  a  motive  taken  from  eternity,  is  more  likely  t6 
17* 


202  INDUCEMENTS 

enfeeble  the  doctrine,  than  to  invigorate  it.  Motives  of 
this  kind  are  self-sufficient,  descriptions  the  most  sim- 
ple, and  the  most  natural,  are  always  the  most  pathetic  or 
the  most  terrifying  ;  nor  can  I  find  an  expression  more 
powerful  and  more  emp/hatic  than  that  of  Paul,  "Ty^ 
things  which  are  not  seen  are  eternal."  What  more 
could  the  tongues  of  men,  and  the  eloquence  of  angels, 
say?  "Eternal  things!" — oh  what  subjects  are  veiled 
under  that  expression  !  Nothing  less  than  eternal  sal- 
vation —  eternal  perdition  !  Professing  Christians,  sur- 
mount your  customary  indolence  ;  summon  your  faculties, 
and  rouse  your  energies,  to  the  consideration  of  this  sub- 
ject, and  weigh  the  import  of  that  phrase,  eternal 
things.  The  history  of  nations,  the  eras  of  time,  the 
creation  of  worlds  —  all  fade  into  insignificance,  dwindle 
to  a  point,  attenuate  to  a  shadow,  compared  with  these 
eternal  things.  Do  you  believe  them?  If  not,  abjure 
your  creed,  abandon  your  Bible,  and  renounce  your  pro- 
fession. Be  consistent,  and  let  the  stupendous  vision, 
which,  like  Jacob's  ladder,  rests  its  foot  on  earth  and  places 
its  top  in  heaven,  vanish  in  thin  air.  But  if  you  do  be- 
lieve, then,  say  what  ought  to  be  the  conduct  of  him,  who 
to  his  own  conviction  stands  with  hell  beneath  him, 
heaven  above  him,  and  eternity  before  him.  O,  could 
you  spend  but  one  hour  in  heaven  and  hell,  into  one  of 
which  you  may  pass  the  next  hour,  and  will  pass 
some  hour  —  could  you  be  for  so  short  a  time  the  wit- 
ness of  ineffable  glory,  and  inconceivable  misery  —  could 
you  see  "  the  solemn  troops,  the  sweet  societies," 
of  the  celestial  city,  and  the  legions  of  accursed  spirits 
which  throng  the  dark  domain  of  the  infernal  world  ; 
and  then  come  back  again  to  earth,  would  it  be  pos- 
sible any  more  to  attend  to  things  seen  and  tempo- 
ral, when  such  things  eternal  were  before  you  '^  Politics 
would  lose  their  fascination — business  its  importance 
—  wealth  its  charms  —  fame  its  glory  —  pleasure  its 
attractions — science  its  value,  and  even  home  its  power 
to  please.  Heaven  and  hell  —  the  soul  and  eternity, 
would  annihilate  forever  all  the  vain  things  which  now 
please    you    most.     To    every    temptation    that  would 


TO   EARNF«TNESS.  203 

divert  your  mind  from  the  salvation   of  your  soul,  you 
would  say, — 

"  I  cannot  liny  your  bliss  so  dear, 
Nor  part  with,  heaven  for  you." 

Indeed,  you  would  be  at  once  unfitted  for  earth.  If 
you  endured  existence  at  all,  you  must  quit  society,  retire 
to  the  hermitage,  the  convent,  or  the  monastery.  He 
who  had  visited  the  upper  and  the  nether  world  could  do 
nothing  else  than  live  to  avoid  the  one,  and  prepare  for 
the  other  ;  or  to  labor  as  Paul  did  after  he  came  from  the 
third  heavens,  to  take  others  with  him  on  his  return. 

By  all  the  worth  of  the  immortal  soul,  then  — by  all 
the  blessings  of  eternal  salvation  —  by  all  the  glories  of 
the  upper  world  —  by  all  the  horrors  of  the  bottomless 
pit  —  by  all  the  ages  of  eternity,  and  by  all  the  personal 
interest  you  have  in  these  infinite  realities,  I  conjure  you 
to  be  in  earnest  in  personal  rehgion. 

II.  As  another  inducement  to  this,  may  be  mentioned 
the  certain,  connection  between  a  high  state  of  reli- 
gion in  this  world,  and  an  exalted  state  of  honor  and 
happiness  in  the  world  to  come  ;  or,  in  other  words,  the 
different  degrees  of  glory  in  the  celestial  kingdom.  We 
are  too  much  accustomed  to  conceive  of  heaven  and  hell 
as  places  where  the  happy  inhabitants  of  the  one,  and 
the  miserable  criminals  of  the  other,  will  be,  respectively, 
al]  upon  a  level ;  the  one  all  equally  happy,  and  the 
other  all  equally  wretched.  This  is  neither  the  doctrine 
of  Scripture,  nor  the  deduction  of  reason.  If  we  consult 
the  Word  of  God,  we  find  it  declared,  in  reference  to  the 
wicked,  that  "  The  servant  which  knew  his  Lord's  will, 
and  prepared  not  himself,  nor  did  according  to  his  will, 
shall  be  beaten  with  many  stripes.  But  he  that  knew  not, 
and  did  commit  things  worthy  of  stripes,  shall  be  beaten 
with  few  stripes.  For  unto  whomsoever  much  is  given, 
of  him  shall  be  much  required."  Luke  xii.  47.  So 
again  it  is  said  by  the  apostle,  "  Be  not  deceived  ;  God  is 
not  mocked  ;  for  whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he 
also  reap."  Gal.  vi.  7.  "  He  which  soweth  sparingly, 
shall  reap  sparingly  ;  and  he  which  soweth  bountifully, 
shall  reap  also  bountifully."     2  Cor.  ix.  6.     Now  the 


204 


INDUCEMENTS 


solemn  truth  conveyed  in  this  language,  is  this  —that 
man's  hfe  is  the  seed-time  for  eternity  —  and  that  as  here 
he  is  always  sowing,  so  he  will  hereafter  be  always  reap- 
ing ;  and  that  the  harvest,  both  as  to  the  kind  and 
the  quantity,  will  be  according  to  the  seed.  They  that 
sow  good  seed  will  have,  some  thirty,  some  sixty,  and 
some  a  hundred  folu,  according  to  the  quantity  sown ; 
while  they  who  sow  the  seed  of  bad  things  will  also  have 
a  harvest  regulated  by  their  seed,  both  in  its  quality  and 
amount.  God's  rule  of  reward  and  punishment  is  a  law  of 
proportion.  True  it  is,  that  in  the  case  of  the  righteous 
and  the  wicked,  there  is  on  the  part  of  God  a  different 
ground  of  procedure  in  reference  to  each,  inasmuch  as 
the  punishment  of  the  wicked  is  on  the  ground  of  their 
own  desert,  while  the  reward  of  the  righteous  is  on  that 
of  Christ's  merits — but  this  affects  not  the  rule  of  dis- 
tribution, since  he  who  gives  to-  a  believer  any  measure 
of  heavenly  glory  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  may,  on  the 
same  ground,  give  to  another  a  far  greater  measure  ; 
he  might  do  this  in  a  way  of  pure  sovereignty,  but  he  has 
determined  to  do  so  according  to  the  measure  of  holiness 
to  which  believers  attain  on  earth. 

This  principle  of  different  degrees  of  glory  does  not  at 
all  interfere  with,  or  in  the  least  oppose,  the  doctrine  of 
justification  by  faith  ;  nor  does  it  affect  the  perfect  happi- 
n^^ss  of  the  blessed  in  heaven.  It  will  excite  neither 
envy,  jealousy,  nor  ill-will  of  any  kind,  since  these  pas- 
sions will  be  all  rooted  out  from  the  spirits  of  just  men 
made  perfect ;  and  no  other  disposition,  but  that  of  per- 
fl^ct  love  to  God  and  our  fellows,  will  have  any  place  in 
us.  A  being  possessed  of  this  perfect  love,  though  the 
least  and  lowest  in  the  scale  of  blessedness,  would  look 
up  to  all  above  him  without  the  smallest  taint  of  malev- 
olent feeling.  All  will  be  perfectly  contented,  and,  there- 
fore, perfectly  happy  ;  and  he  who  is  perfectly  contented 
knows  nothing  of  enyy  ;  these  states  of  mind  are  incom- 
patible with  each  other.  There  may  be  vessels  of  an 
indefinite  number  of  capacities,  yet  all  may  be  full.  Thus 
we  can  conceive  of  different  degrees  of  glory,  and  yet  no 
disturbance  jf  the  felicity  of  those  who  are  subjects  of 
them. 


TO    EARNESTNESS.  205 

Now  the  law  by  which  these  varieties  will  be  regu 
lated  will  be,  as  we  have  already  supposed,  the  attain- 
ments in  personal  religion,  and  the  degrees  of  usefulness 
cf  Christians  upon  earth  ;  and  this  law  will  help  us  better 
to  conceive  of  the  whole  subject.  We  may  imagine  that 
every  effort  of  vital  godliness  —  every  successful  resist- 
ance of  temptation  —  every  reach  after  holiness  —  every 
mortification  of  sin  —  every  aspiration  after  conformity  to 
God  —  may  have  some  effect  upon  the  moral  constitution 
of  our  nature,  analogous  to  the  exercise  of  our  under- 
standing or  of  our  body,  in  strengthening  our  intellectual 
and  corporeal  frame.  There  may  be  an  expansion,  so  to 
speak,  of  the  spiritual  nature,  an  increasing  receptivity 
of  glory  and  honor,  ever  going  on,  by  our  growth  in 
grace  on  earth  ;  the  child  of  God  may  here,  by  his  good 
habits  in  the  school  of  Christ,  and  by  his  holy  exercises. 
be  preparing  for  a  larger  stature  of  the  perfect  man  ir 
heaven.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  society  of 
Paradise  will  be  well  compacted  and  orderly.  There 
may  be  varieties  of  rank,  station  and  employment ;  for 
aught  we  can  tell,  there  may  be  rule,  subjection  and  gov- 
ernment ;  and  therefore  the  different  degrees  of  grace 
may  be  the  discipline,  the  education,  the  meetness,  for 
the  different  situations  to  be  filled  up,  the  posts  to  be 
occupied,  in  the  celestial  kingdom.  There  are  not  want- 
ing intimations  of  this  in  the  Word  of  God. 

Besides,  let  it  be  remembered  that  we  shall  carry  with 
us  our  memory  to  heaven,  and  will  it  be  no  bhss  to 
remember  what  we  did  for  God  on  earth,  and  how  we 
attempted  to  serve  Christ  1  Why,  the  apostle  Paul  felt 
this  even  on  earth ;  and  if  the  retrospect  then  afforded 
him  such  delight,  how  much  more  when  he  saw  the 
results  of  all  he  did  spread  out  before  him  in  the  celestial 
world  !  With  what  rapture  would  he  there  say,  "  I  have 
fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course  !"  How 
precious  would  be  the  recollection  of  all  his  sufferings, 
and  all  his  labors !  How  it  would  delight  him  to  look 
back,  and  recall  to  recollection  his  sacrifices  and  his  ser- 
vices, not  in  a  spirit  of  pharisaic  pride,  but  of  deep  hu- 
mility, and  adoring  gratitude  and  love.  There  he  would 
realize  the  truth  of  his  own  words,  "  For  what  is  our 


206  INDUCEMENTiS 

hope,  or  joy,  or  crown  of  rejoicing?  Are  not  even  ye  in 
the  presence  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  at  his  coming"^ 
For  5^e  are  our  glory  and  joy."  1  Thess.  ii.  19.  Every 
soul  he  had  been  the  instrument  of  saving  would  be  a 
separate  jewel  to  enrich  and  adorn  his  diadem  of  glory. 

Just  thus  M'ill  it  be  with  all  others.  Memory  will  add 
to  their  felicities  also.  The  whole  multitude  of  the 
redeemed  will  remember  all  they  did  for  Christ,  and 
think  of  it  with  delight ;  and  they  who  have  most  to 
think  of  will  have  most  bliss  in  the  remembrance  of  it. 
The  souls  which  they  have  been  the  instruments  of 
saving  will  all  be  present  to  swell  their  rapture  and  aug- 
ment their  bliss.  Nor  will  the  enjoyment  stop  here. 
The  blissful  reminiscence  will  be  enhanced  by  a  divine 
eulogy,  for  Christ  will  add  his  testimony  of  approbation 
to  all  they  did.  Even  a  cup  of  cold  water  shall  not  lose 
its  reward,  if  given  to  a  disciple  in  his  name.  He  will 
pass  over  nothing.  He  keeps  a  book  of  remembrance  of 
those  who  even  think  upon  his  name  ;  and  he  will  mark 
with  his  special  and  personal  commendation  all  we  have 
done  for  him  ;  and  then  they  who  have  served  him  best 
will,  of  course,  receive  most  of  his  gracious  notice  and 
commendation. 

Professors,  I  appeal  to  you,  then,  on  this  deeply  inter- 
esting and  important  view  of  our  subject.  True  it  is, 
that  to  be  just  within  the  threshold  of  your  Father's 
house  —  to  occupy  the  lowest  room,  and  to  perform  the 
humblest  service,  wall  be  amazing  and  unutterable  grace 
—  but  this  ought  not  to  be  an  excuse  for  indolence,  an 
apology  for  lukewarmness.  If  it  be  lawful  for  you  to 
long  for  heaven,  because  there  you  shall  enjoy  the  pres- 
ence of  your  Lord,  it  is  surely  lawful  for  you  to  desire  to 
press  as  near  to  your  Lord  as  possible  ;  the  outer  circle, 
the  distant  glimpse,  the  remote  dwelling,  ought  not  to 
be  enough  to  satisfy  your  desire,  or  fill  your  heart.  If 
it  be  lawful  for  you  to  co'  et  heaven  at  all,  because  you 
shall  there  serve  God,  surely  it  is  lawful  for  you  also  to 
aspire  to  the  honor  of  doing  more  for  him  than  you  could 
do  in  one  of  the  lowest  posts.  Call  not  this  a  spiritual 
selfishness,  or  an  unauthorized  ambition  ;  it  is  no  such 


TO    EARNESTNESS. 


207 


thing ;  it  is  a  legitimate  yearning  of  the  soul  after  the 
glory  to  be  revealed.  This,  this,  is  your  business  on 
earth,  you  are  training  for  heaven  ;  this  is  your  work  in 
the  church  militant,  to  be  preparing  for  some  post  and 
place  in  the  church  triumphant.  Is  not  this  enough  to 
make  you  in  earnest?  Can  you  believe  this,  and  not  be 
in  earnest?  Awake  —  arouse  —  put  aside  your  earthly- 
mindedness  —  mortify  your  corruptions  !  "  Gird  up  the 
loins  of  your  mind,  be  sober,  and  hope  to  the  end.  for  the 
grace  that  is  to  be  brought  unto  you  at  the  revelation  of 
Jesus  ChriFt."     1  Pet.  i.  13. 

III.  And  without  this  intensity  of  mind,  what  is 
your  religion?  Certainly  not  a  source  of  pleasure,  but 
of  distaste.  An  earnest  religion  is  that  alone  which  is  a 
happy  one.  To  drink  into  the  pleasures  of  religion,  we 
must  drink  deeply  of  religion  itself.  It  is  with  the  hap- 
piness of  piety  as  it  is  with  ore  in  a  mine,  it  lies  far 
below  the  surface,  and  we  must  make  a  laborious  descent 
to  reach  the  treasure,  but  when  reached,  it  is  worth  all 
the  digging  and  toiling  to  get  at  it.  Many  professors,  if 
they  were  honest,  would  say  their  religion  is  an  incum- 
brance, rather  than  a  privilege.  It  yields  no  delight ; 
they  are  strangers  to  the  peace  that  passeth  understand- 
ing, and  to  the  joy  that  is  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory. 
They  occupy  a  position  half-way  between  the  church 
and  the  world,  and  do  not  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  either  ; 
ihey  are  spoiled  for  the  one,  without  being  fitted  for  the 
other.  They  have  given  up  many  of  the  fashionable 
amusements  of  the  gay,  and  have  received  nothing  in 
return  ;  and  hence  they  turn  many  a  longing  eye  on 
what  they  have  left.  They  were  happier  as  they  once 
were  ;  they  begin  to  think,  and  others  thmk  so  too,  that 
they  are  in  their  wrong  place  in  being  in  the  church  of 
God,  and  were  it  not  for  the  shame  of  retreat,  they 
would  be  glad  to  be  back  again  amidst  former  scenes. 
How  much  are  they  to  be  pitied,  as  well  as  blamed  —  and 
they  are  not  few — who  have  just  religion  enough  to  make 
them  miserable  ! 

IV.  We  live  in  an  earnest  age,  and  religion  cannot 
be  expected  to  maintain  its  ground  without  a  correspond- 


208  INDUCEMENTS 

ing  decision  and  resoluteness  of  character.*  The  human 
mind  was  never  more  active  than  it  is  now  ;  the  human 
heart  never  more  engrossed  ;  and,  in  consequence,  human 
schemes  never  came  more  thickly  or  rapidly  crowding 
upon  the  public  attention.  There  have  been  times  when 
some  one  object  has  seized  with  a  more  absorbing  power, 
and  a  more  giant  grasp,  the  intellect  of  the  nation,  such 
as  a  season  of  intestine  commotion,  of  the  dread  of  for- 
eign invasion,  of  the  prevalence  of  the  plague,  or  othet 
forms  of  pestilence  —  but  these  excitements  have  been 
of  a  kind  which,  while  they  occupied  the  mind,  did  not 
draw  men  away  from,  but  drove  them  to,  religion  for 
succor  and  support.  An  awe  of  God,  and  a  sense  of  the 
need  of  his  interposition,  came  in  such  circumstances 
over  the  nation.  While  the  tempest  was  rolling  over  us, 
and  men's  hearts  were  failing  them  for  fear,  they  seemed 
to  see  Jehovah  riding  in  the  whirlwind  and  directing  the 
storm.  God  was  recognized  as  coming  near  to  them, 
wrapped  in  cloud  and  speaking  in  thunder.  But  it  is  not 
so  now ;  it  is  an  excitement  which,  to  a  great  extent, 
tends  to  shut  out,  and  keep  out,  God  from  men's 
thoughts  ;  and  partakes,  in  some  views  and  directions, 
of  an  atheistic  character.  Politics,  both  national  and 
municipal,  are  engrossing,  without  being  alarming;  no 
spectral  forms  of  national  danger  soberize  the  minds  of 
men.  Trade  is  a  passion  as  well  as  a  pursuit ;  science 
is  all  but  miraculous  in  its  discoveries,  and  is  keeping 
our  mind  upon  the  stretch  in  admiration  of  what  it  has 
done,  and  in  expectation  of  what  it  may  yet  do.  Art  is 
continually  surprising  us  with  new  inventions.  The  rail- 
way system  has  almost  changed  our  mode  and  habits  of 
existence.  We  seem  scarcely  to  be  inhabiting  the  same 
planet  as  our  forefathers.  The  press  is  astounding  us 
with  the  rapid  multiplication  of  its  products.  Our  minds, 
hearts,  hands,  are  all  full  —  and  what  but  an  earnest 
piety  can  prevent  our  being  totally  swallowed  up  in  the 
vortex,  and  carried  away  by  the  stream?  If  we  have 
not  an  earnest  piety  in  the  midst  of  this  earnestness  for 

*  I  am  obliged  here  to  travel  over  some  of  the  ground  I  took 
in  my  "  Earnest  Ministry  ;"  but  I  cannot  avoid  it,  and  shall  do 
It  now  in  a  condensed  form. 


TO    EARNESTNESS.  209 

everything-  else,  we  can  have  no  piety  at  all.  Men  are 
so  full  of  action  as  to  have  scarcely  time  to  think ;  and 
what  thinking  they  can  carry  on  is  all  of  the  earth,  and 
therefore  earthly.  It  is  the  idolatry  of  genius,  the 
worship  of  talent,  the  ennoblement,  almost  the  deifica- 
tion, of  man,  that  characterizes  our  day.  This  generation 
seems  -in  danger  of  thinking,  or  of  acting,  as  if  they 
thought  there  is  nothing  higher  than  human  intellect 
A  sort  of  unacknovi'ledged,  unsuspected  Pantheism  is 
coming  over  us.  God  is  by  many  shut  out  of  his  own 
world  ;  nature  is  everything  ;  its  Creator,  nothing. 

Now  we  —  as  Christians  —  are  in  danger  of  being  in- 
fected by  this  prevailing  spirit.  We  never  wanted  more 
religion,  or  wanted  religion  more,  than  we  do  now. 
Upon  it  depends  whether  the  Supreme  Being  shall  be 
any  longer  acknowledged  by  his  creatures,  or  his  very 
name  sunk  in  oblivion  ;  and  yet  we  are  not  in  the  best 
state  to  resist  the  assault  upon  the  foundations  of  our 
piety.  Earnestness  is  going  out  of  the  church  into  the 
world  ;  and  unless  it  can  be  revived  among  us,  the 
church  will  go  on  sinking  into  a  state  of  feebleness  and 
decay.  Instead  of  the  church  permeating  the  world 
with  its  own  spirit,  it  is  receiving  the  spirit  of  the  world 
into  itself.  Instead  of  directing,  controlling,  and  sanctify- 
ing the  spirit  and  manners  of  the  age,  it  is  itself  directed, 
controlled,  and  contaminated  by  them.  Its  own  light  has 
become  pale,  and  is  in  danger  of  being  extinguished  by 
the  mighty  beams  of  a  more  intense  fire  blazing  around 
from  without.  Earnest  men  of  the  world  are  crowding 
past,  and  thrusting  aside  the  professors  of  religion,  and 
Christians,  in  such  a  state  of  things,  cannot  stand  their 
ground,  much  less  advance,  without  a  robust  and  ath- 
letic piety.  They  will  be  borne  down,  lose  their  spirit- 
uality, become  spiritless  and  weak,  and  soon  cast  oflf 
their  religion  as  having  none  of  the  life  with  which  all 
things  around  them  are  instinct. 

And  then  what  chance  have  they,  unless  they  are  as 
flames  of  fire,  of  kindling  a  single  spark  in  the  souls  of 
others  ?     Men  of  the  world  are  too  busy,  too  much  pre- 
occupied, too  in*-^nt  on  other  objects,  to  be  broken  in 
18 


210  INDUCEMENTS 

upon,  to  be  arrested,  except  by  a  most  vigoi  ,<u&  religion. 
They  love  excitement,  and  they  have  it ;  they  must  go 
v.-ith  the  men  who  are  alive  and  active,  and  what  care 
they  for  a  poor,  dull,  sleepy  religion  —  a  mere  name  —  a 
profession  half  dead?  "  Yes,"  they  say,  "  I  am  in  ear- 
nest for  this  world,  and  I  must  be  in  earnest.  I  am  made 
for  activity.  I  have  a  vast  fund  of  energy  in  my  nature, 
which  must  be  called  out  and  employed,  and  I  cannot  put 
up  with  your  drowsy  tinklings,  while  the  trumpets  are 
sounding  and  calling  me  to  the  field.  Show  me  a  reli- 
gion that  is  full  of  life,  and  vigor,  and  enjoyment,  and  1 
may  then  hearken  to  you,  but  not  till  then."  We  must 
meet  this  demand,  and  exhibit  a  religion  that  in  earnest- 
ness surpasses  even  the  energy  of  their  pursuits.  Every 
Christian  church  should  appear  to  be  the  region  of  life  — 
a  very  hive  without  any  drones  —  al]  busy  for  eternity, 
all  engaged  upon  their  own  salvation  and  the  salvation  of 
the  world ;  a  scene  which  exhibits  the  union  of  activity 
and  repose  ;  where  the  one  is  without  weariness,  and  the 
other  without  listlessness  ;  where  the  true  secret  of  hap- 
piness is  found  in  hope  without  disappointment  —  energy 
without  exhaustion  —  happiness  without  satiety  —  and 
life  is  in  its  fullest  vigor  and  richest  enjoyment.  Such 
should  be  every  church,  a  peaceful  haven,  inviting  men 
to  retire  from  the  tossings  and  perils  of  the  unquie  ocean 
of  worldly  troubles,  to  a  sacred  inclosiire,  a  sequestered 
spot,  which  the  storms  and  tempests  of  earthly  interests 
are  not  permitted  to  invade  ;  and  yet  where  the  happiest 
employment  is  combined  with  the  sweetest  and  safest 
tranquillity. 

V.  Consider  the  combined  and  deleterious  influence 
which  is  likely  to  come  against  Christianity  from  the  en- 
grossing power  of  some  things,  good  in  themselves,  and 
evil  only  by  their  association  with  other  matters  —  such 
as  science,  philosophy,  and  liberalism  in  politics  ;  and  the 
positive  and  increasing  influence  of  others  —  such  as  po- 
pery and  infidehty,  which  are  evil,  only  evil,  and  that 
continually. 

Science  of  itself  is  of  God,  and  leads  to  him,  if  men 
will  but  give  themselves  up  to  its  legitimate  deductions, 
and  will  allow  themselves  to  be  guided  whither  it  would 


TO    EARNESTNESS.  211 

conduct  them,  since  its  conclusions  would  infallibly  lead 
them  to  the  temple  of  religion.  But,  alas  !  how  rarely  is 
this  the  case !  the  most  distinguished  of  our  scientific 
men  stand  without,  or  reach  only  the  vestibule  of  the 
temple,  and  instead  of  pressing  on  to  adore  the  Deity  en- 
shrined in  the  holy  of  holies,  are  contented  to  admire  the 
fair  proportions  and  stupendous  magnitude  of  the  sacred 
edifice.  Science  cannot,  of  course,  be  made  to  speak  of 
God  the  Saviour  and  the  Sanctifier,  but  it  may  be  made 
a  teacher  of  God  the  Creator.  But  how  rarely  is  even 
this  done  !  For  aught  that  is  said  by  many  of  our  great 
teachers  of  nature's  laws,  of  the  supreme,  intelligent, 
and  benevolent  First  Cause,  we  might  be  left  to  conclude 
that  we  lived  in  a  godless  world,  and  that  we  saw  around 
us  either  the  works  of  chance,  or  at  any  rate  the  produc- 
tions of  a  being  whom  it  was  not  thought  worth  while  to 
inquire  after.  Nor  does  the  matter  rest  here,  for  many 
are  endeavoring  by  science  to  lead  us  away  from  God,  and 
thus  making  the  very  works  of  the  infinite  Intelligence  a 
blazing  galaxy  to  eclipse  the  glory  of  the  eternal  Creator, 
and  lure  us  to  the  brink  of  Atheism  or  Pantheism.  And 
where  this  is  not  done  ;  where  neither  the  teacher  nor 
the  taught  has  any  intention  or  wish  to  go  astray  from 
God  amidst  the  boundless  fields  of  a  universe  ever  widen- 
ing upon  the  exploring  and  astonished  mind ;  yet  how 
much  danger  is  there,  lest  the  surprfeing  discoveries 
which  are  ever  and  anon  bursting  upon  our  view,  should 
by  their  novelty  and  their  grandeur  render  the  old  and 
long  established  truths  of  revelation  tame  and  insipid ! 
How  imminent,  to  cultivated  minds,  is  the  peril,  when 
engaged  amidst  the  all  but  overwhelming  studies  of  ge- 
ology, chemistry,  astronomy,  magnetism,  electricity,  and 
optics,  of  passing  by,  with  heedless  step  and  averted  eye, 
that  cross  on  which  the  Saviour  loved  and  died  !  How 
sad,  and  yet  how  true,  is  it,  that  the  more  God  reveals 
himself  through  the  discoveries  of  science,  the  more  he 
should  be  forgotten,  and  even  denied,  as  he  reveals  him- 
self in  the  pages  of  his  Word  I  What  else  can  this  be 
but  the  aui^ient  disposition  of  not  liking  to  retain  tin 
knowledge  of  God,  and  the  ancient  revulsion,  "  Depart 
froTi  us,  for  we  desire  not  the  knowledge  of  thy  ways?' 


212  INDUCEMENTS 

But  even  with  pious  people,  who,  in  their  more  seri- 
o-is  moments,  trace  up  all  science  to  Gon,  and  find  cause 
in  his  works  for  adoring  wonder,  gratitude,  and  love, 
there  is  need  of  caution,  watchfulness,  and  prayer,  lest  a 
love  for  general  reading,  and  the  constant  occupation  of 
the  mind  amidst  the  fields  of  knowledge,  which  are  ever 
opv^ning  before  them,  should  lead  the  heart  away  from 
God.  Not  a  few,  in  soaring  to  the  stars,  or  delving  into 
the  earth — in  analyzing  substances,  and  ascertaining 
properties  —  in  balancing  theories  of  currency,  popula- 
tion, and  other  matters,  connected  with  the  wealth  of  na- 
tions, have  lost  their  relish  for  the  truths  of  the  kingdom 
of  God,  and  instead  of  feeling  any  longer  the  attractions 
of  those  things  into  which  the  angels  desire  to  look,  are 
wholly  taken  up  with  the  objects  of  this  material  and  vis- 
ible world.  This  is  the  snare  of  our  age  —  such  an  oc- 
cupancy of  the  mind  by  the  varieties  of  knowledge  which 
are  ever  presenting  themselves,  as  that  there  shall  be 
neither  room,  nor  time,  nor  taste,  for  rehgion.  "  The 
value,  the  uses,  the  pleasures  of  knowledge,  and  the  best 
means  of  acquiring  it,"  is  the  cry  of  the  age  —  and  a 
very  good  one,  in  measure,  it  is  —  but  then  it  is  crying 
down,  with  many,  everything  else  ;  it  is  insidiously  alien- 
ating men's  minds  from  religion,  by  throwing  the  great 
moral  truths  of  revelation  into  the  shadow  of  a  material 
philosophy  ;  and  ftiaking  men  feel  as  if  the  tree  of  knowl- 
edge were  the  tree  of  life,  or  at  any  rate  as  if,  by  eating 
the  fruit  of  the  former,  they  could  dispense  with  the  fruit 
jf  the  latter,  and  either  do  without  heaven  hereafter,  or 
were  fitted  for  it  by  the  science  they  gain  upon  earth. 
Christians,  as  well  as  others,  are  in  danger  from  this 
source,  and  instead  of  growing  in  grace  and  in  general 
knowledge,  which  they  may  and  should  do,  have  grown 
in  knowledge,  but  have  declined  in  grace.  • 

Let  me  not  be  misconceived  nor  misrepresented,  as  if  I 
were  pleading  against  knowledge,  as  if  I  conceived  it 
were  an  enemy  to  revelation  and  rehgion.  No  such 
thing.  I  am  only  pleading  against  it  as  the  substitute  of 
rehgion,  as  that  which  would  be  of  itself  sufficient  for 
man's  moral  and  immortal  self,  without  religion.     I  adopt 


TO    EARNESTNESS.  213 

the  noble  language  of  Mr.  Wells  in  his  lecture  upon  the 
instruction  of  the  laboring  class. 

"  If  it  be  asked,  What  limits  would  you  place  on  the 
education  of  the  working  classes?  the  answer  is  '  none.' 
Teach  them  all  you  can  by  any  means  induce  or  enabie 
them  to  learn.  How  far  would  you  carry  the  instruction 
of  the  working  classes  ?  As  far  as  possible.  .  .  .  But, 
apart  from  this,  who  is  afraid  of  knowledge?  of  sound, 
healthful  intelligence  1  Of  knowledge,  the  light  and  joy 
of  souls  !  Of  knowledge,  the  object  for  which  minds 
were  made,  and  their  faculties  given  !  Of  knowledge, 
in  capacity  for  which,  man  resembles  his  Maker  ;  and  in 
acquiring  which,  he  communes  with  all  created  things  ! 
Of  knowledge,  the  foe  of  everything  infidel,  sensual, 
and  brutal  ?  What  page  of  history,  science,  or  genuine 
poetry,  must  we  close  from  any  man,  saying,  here  knowl- 
edge is  perilous  —  here  ignorance  alone  is  safety?  Of 
what  discovered  facts  in  nature  —  of  what  refined  pro- 
ductions of  genius  —  must  we  say,  '  These  are  the  luxu- 
ries of  the  few  alone?'  If,  indeed,  only  of  the  few, 
those  few  are  not  the  favored  in  circumstances,  but  the 
select  in  mind,  and  these  may  be  found  among  the 
working  classes  in  as  large  proportion  as  among  the 
privileged  classes ;  and  wherever  they  may  be  found, 
there  they  should  be  sought,  that  at  this  uncostly  and 
noble  banquet  of  mind  they  may  be  welcome  guests,  and 
joyful  partakers.  Lift  up  the  people,  cheer  on  the 
people,  to  as  much  acquisition  of  knowledge  as  possible. 
Raise  everywhere  the  standard  of  mind.  If  some,  if 
many,  so  encouraged  and  helped,  press  upwards  into 
higher  departments  and  circumstances  in  society,  so 
much  the  better.  They  will  bring  health  and  power 
with  them  into  the  ranks  by  which  they  will  be  hailed 
as  brothers,  not  scowled  upon  as  intruders.  No,  teach 
the  people  all  they  can  learn,  all  they  will  learn." 

Liberalism  in  politics,  however  excellent  in  itself,  is 
made,  perhaps,  by  an  abuse  of  it,  to  exert  an  influence 
far  from  friendly  to  genuine  piety.  The  love  of  freedom 
is,  or  ought  to  be,  with  every  Englishman,  both  a  princi- 
ple and  a  passion  :  and  he  who  does  not  wish  to  lil'crate 
18* 


214  INDUCEMENTS 

the  constitution  of  his  country  from  the  last  remnant  of 
servihty,  which  is  degrading  or  oppressive  to  a  free  man, 
dishonors  the  soil  which  has  been  consecrated  by  the 
blood  of  patriot  martyrs.  But  it  must  be  confessed,  at 
the  same  time,  that  the  liberalism  of  our  days  has  been 
seen  too  nearly  allied,  in  some  cases,  with  a  spirit  hostile 
to  religion.  There  is  no  necessity  it  should  be  so  ;  the 
very  genius  of  Christianity  is  a  spirit  of  freedom,  and  all 
its  precepts  are  opposed  to  tyranny.  It  defends  witli 
impartiality  the  palace  and  the  cottage  —  the  prerogative 
of  the  monarch,  and  the  rights  of  the  subject ;  bi:t 
unhappily  the  priest  and  the  altar  have  been  so  often  on 
the  side  of  oppression  that  the  cause  of  freedom  has 
been  thrown  too  much  into  the  hands  of  infidels  ;  and 
there  is  no  doubt  that,  in  modern  times,  at  least,  nearly 
the  whole  force  of  infidelity  has  been  on  the  side  of  free- 
dom. This  proves  the  duty  and  the  necessity  of  all  the 
friends  of  religion  rallying  round  the  standard  of  liberty, 
and  not  leaving  such  a  cause  in  the  hands  of  the  foes  of 
revelation.  It  is  preeminently  their  cause  —  they  have 
suffered  more  than  any  others  from  the  iroif  heel  and 
bloody  sword  of  t3n:anny  ;  and  that  which  has  trodden 
down  their  persons  has  trampled  their  principles  and 
their  cause  with  them  in  the  dust,  so  that  liberty  is  to 
them  not  only  a  source  of  their  enjoyment,  but  a  means 
of  their  usefulness.  The  last  leaning  in  them  to  the  side 
of  absolutism  or  servility  is  a  sin  against  their  holy 
religion,  in  its  prospects  and  its  hopes,  as  well  as  an 
offence  against  their  own  dignity  and  honor.  Happily 
for  themselves,  happily  for  their  cause,  and  no  less  ha[»- 
pily  for  their  country  and  the  world,  they  now  live  in  an 
age  when  the  principles  of  religious  freedom  are  better 
understood  and  appreciated  than  in  any  preceding  period 
of  the  world  ;  and  it  becomes  them  more  and  more  tc 
take  heed  not  to  let  it  be  the  boast  of  infidels  that  the^ 
are  the  staunchest  friends  of  liberty.  Their  liberalisn. 
goes  to  the  destruction  of  religion  altogether.  Man,  in 
their  view,  is  not  free  as  long  as  he  is  bound  by,  what 
they  are  pleased  to  call,  the  fetters  of  superstition.  He 
is  a  slave  while  he  bows  to  the  yoke  of  God,  and  from 
this  they  are  eager  and  officious  to  liberate  him.     I^et 


TO    EARNESTNESS.  215 

any  one  read  the  organs  of  the  extreme  Chartist  party, 
and  he  will  see  this  is  no  false  accusation.  And  even 
many  of  those  who  would  spurn  with  disdain  and  loath- 
ing- these  infidel  liberals,  hold  opinions  of  a  character 
very  loose  on  the  subject  of  religion.  The  tendency  of 
much  of  modern  argument,  policy,  and  legislation,  is  to" 
represent  all  religions,  as  they  are  called,  equally  good, 
that  is,  in  the  opinion  of  many,  equally  worthless.  In- 
stead of  endowing  none,  and  thus  leaving  truth  to  its 
own  strength,  to  fight  its  own  battles  under  the  protec- 
tion and  blessing  of  the  God  of  truth,  they  would 
endow  all,  as  being  all  equally  desen^ing  of  public  pat- 
ronage and  support.  If  by  religious  equality  nothing 
more  were  meant  than  the  equality  of  all  religious  denom- 
inations in  political  rights  —  this  is  nothing  more  than 
justice  —  but  if  it  be  meant,  as  it  is  by  many,  the  equal- 
ity of  all  religious  sentiment  —  this  is  concealed  infidel- 
ity. When  such  a  state  of  public  opinion  prevails 
among  a  large  portion  of  those  who  have  embraced 
liberal  views  of  politics,  is  there  not  a  danger  of  some 
corrupting  influence  coming  over  the  minds  of  those 
professors  of  religion  who,  having  also  embraced  liberal 
opinions,  are  brought  by  association  into  contact  with 
the  infidel  party  1  Is  there  not  need  of  a  vigorous  piety 
to  resist  the  insidious  influence  of  this  mischievous 
leaven  I  Is  it  not  a  matter  of  necessity  that  they  should 
look  up  by  prayer  for  divine  grace,  lest  their  politics,  or 
at  any  rate  their  party  in  politics,  should  weaken  and 
corrupt  their  piety?  Liberalism  is  a  good  thing,  and 
has  a  good  object,  but  like  other  good  things  may  be 
abused  to  a  bad  purpose ;  and  that  is  certainly  a  bad 
use  of  it  which  either  damps  the  ardor  of  religious  affec- 
tion, or  loosens  our  hold  upon  religious  opinions. 

It  is  quite  unnecessary,  after  what  has  been  advanced 
on  this  subject  in  a  former  chapter,  for  me  to  advert  at 
any  length  to  the  prevalence  of  infidel  spirit,  in  its 
open,  avowed,  and  studious  endeavor  to  undermine  the 
foundations  of  our  faith  ;  I  therefore  now  only  refer  to 
it,  as  another  inducement  to  seek  after  a  vigorous  and 
manly  piety  to  grapple  with  this  foul  spirit. 

There  is  another  enemy  of  o:r  faith,  more  plausible, 


216  INDUCEMENTS 

more  insidious,  and  therefore  more  dangerous,  with 
which  the  church  will  soon  have  to  contend,  and  the 
conflict  with  which  indeed  is  already  begun  ;  and  that  is 
ihe  f^Mosophizir.g^  rationalizing,  spirit,  which  is  coming 
over  us  from  Gtrmany.  This,  aided  by  the  works  of  a 
popular  English  writer,  is  likely  to  diifuse  itself  over  the 
cultivated  minds  of  this  country.  It  is  already,  in  some 
measure,  corrupting  our  orthodoxy,  and  in  its  progress 
will  do  yet  more  mischief,  if  not  resisted  by  the  religious 
intelligence  of  the  tutors  of  our  colleges,  the  editors  of 
our  religious  periodicals,  with  some  of  whom  it  finds  too 
much  favor,  our  influential  pastors,  and  the  well  instruct- 
ed members  of  our  churches.  The  pith  of  this  system 
is  the  old  dogma,  though  somewhat  dilFerently  presented, 
of  the  early  English  free-thinkers,  that  reason  rather 
than  faith  is  our  guide  in  religious  matters  ;  and  its 
tendency  is  to  prove  that  Christianity  is  a  worn-out  system 
of  superstition,  and  must  now  give  place  to  something 
more  rational  and  more  accordant  with  the  spirit  and  ad- 
vancement of  the  age.  The  progress  of  this  system  is 
written  in  fearful  characters  by  D'Aubigne,  in  his  interest- 
ing work  lately  issued,  entitled  "  Germany,  England,  and 
Scotland."  After  describing  the  progress  of  this  system, 
from  the  old  Unitarian  Neology,  to  downright  atheism, 
he  remarks,  "  Thus  Germany  has  exhibited  within  the 
last  few  years  a  terrible,  yet  no  doubt  a  salutary,  spec- 
tacle. The  great  lesson  to  be  derived  from  it  is,  to  yield 
nothing  when  the  truth  of  God  is  concerned.  If  v/e  take 
hut  one  step  backwards,  we  give  the  first  impulse  to  go 
a  hundred,  a  thousand,  and  we  know  not  what  will  be 
the  end.  Infidelity  in  Germany  has  not  been  confined  to 
a  few  obscure  writers,  obliged  to  hide  themselves  in 
some  corner,  and  reduced  to  communicate  their  blasphe- 
mies to  a  small  number  of  contemptible  adepts.  Such 
may  be  the  case  in  England,  but  it  is  far  otherwise  in 
Germany,  These  men  have  been  listened  to  with  favor 
by  the  cultivated  classes.  In  the  course  of  the  summer 
(1845)  while  I  was  in  Germany,  a  great  meeting  of 
German  writers,  for  the  most  part  infidel,  was  held  at 
Leipsic  ;  and  there,  one  Mr,  Jordan,  of  Konigsberg,  at  a 
dinner  of  these  literary  men,  proposed  a  toast  to    The 


TO    EARNESTNESS.  217 

• 

Atheists  I  .  .  .  .1  will  not  repeat  the  terms  their 
impiety  makes  me  shudder  ;  an  icy  coldness  and  i  dead 
silence  pervaded  the  assembly. 

"  This  modern  impiety  of  Germany  has  been  accom- 
panied by  great  immorality  ;  and  as  faith  is  manifested 
by  works  of  charity,  so  does  atheism  show  itself  by  the 
grossest  materialism.  The  young  German  generation 
have  declared,  in  one  of  their  organs,  that  they  will  be 
Iree,  throw  off,  as  oppressive  bonds,  all  laws  of  civil 
order,  of  ecclesiastical  and  religious  institutions,  and 
finally  emancipate  themselves  from  the  yoke  of  moral 
principles. 

"  It  is  whispered  that  a  young  German  party,  forming 
at  Oxford,  is  desirous  of  planting  in  England  the  doc- 
trines of  Hegel  and  Strauss.*  I  do  not  know  the  opin- 
ions of  that  school ;  but  if  it  belong  to  the  modern  Ger- 
man philosophy,  it  is  easy  to  see  the  course  it  will  fol- 
low, and  whither  it  will  lead  England.  Oxford  would 
thus  pass  from  the  extreme  of  superstition  and  formality, 
(Puseyism,)  to  the  extreme  of  unbelief  and  materialism. 
I  trust  the  British  good  sense  —  the  practical  sense  of 
Englishmen  —  will  confine  these  follies  to  a  few  men  in 
a  few  colleges.  Yet  let  us  beware.  If  all  the  friends 
of  Christian  religion  and  morality  do  not  increase  in 
decision,  holiness,  and  zeal,  we  may  perhaps  see  them 
raising  their  heads  in  every  quarter ^ 

It  is  not,  however,  the  gross  and  extreme  development 
of  German  philosophy  which  is  to  be  expected  and 
dreaded  in  this  country.  English  individuality  is  too 
strongly  marked,  not  to  impress  upon  it  a  peculiar  stamp  ; 
its  tendency  will  be  greatly  resisted  and  modified  by  our 
more  practical  understanding,  and  its  grosser,  and  more 
polluted  and  polluting  elements  will  be  arrested  in  passing 
through  the  filter  of  our  common  sense  philosophy  —  but 
even  then,  it  is  to  be  feared,  it  will  :.ome  out  strongly 
impregnated,  in  many  cases,  with  necdogical  principles. 
It   may,   as    I  have    remarked    in   my  work    on   *'  An 

*  A  work  of  this  description  has  lately  appeared  in  Oxford, 
entitled  "  The  Spirit's  Trials  —  Shadows  of  the  Clouds,"  by 
Zeta.  See  a  full  exposure  of  its  Panthestic  doctrines  in  the 
Oxford  Protestant  Magazine,  for  January,  1848. 


218  INDUCEMENTS 

• 
Earnest  Ministry,"  exert  a  baleful  influence  upon  out 
young  ninisters,  which,  though  it  may  not  corrupt  their 
orthodoxy  with  positive  error,  may  becloud  it  with  the 
abstractions  of  metaphysics  ;  and  instead  of  leading  them 
to  seek  the  salvation  of  souls  by  the  simple,  yet  powerful, 
exhibition  of  truths  that  come  home  to  the  heart,  may 
make  them  desire  to  excite  admiration  by  novelties  of 
speculation,  that  surprise  and  amuse  the  intellect.  Nor 
is  this  the  only  danger,  for  many  of  their  more  intelli- 
gent, and  less  pious  hearers,  especially  the  young,  find- 
ing their  taste  for  novelty  gratified,  their  love  of  what  is 
intellectual  pleased,  and  their  conscience,  hitherto  not 
altogether  easy,  tranquillized,  by  something  not  quite  so 
pungent  and  searching  as  that  which  they  have  been 
accustomed  to  hear,  will  take  up  with  these  new  views, 
and  push  them  on  to  a  point  much  beyond  that  where 
the  preacher  has  placed  them.  Even  the  more  pious, 
by  having  their  minds  too  much  alienated  from  the  sim- 
plicity that  is  in  Christ,  are  in  danger  of  losing  their 
relish  for  the  substantial  verities  of  the  gospel,  and 
acquiring  a  taste  for  something  fresh,  and,  as  they  deem, 
more  intellectual  than  the  doctrines  of  grace.  The  life 
of  faith  is  thus  imperilled  by  substituting,  for  that  which 
alone  can  nourish  its  vital  principle,  a  system  which 
appeals  exclusively  to  the  reason. 

It  is  this,  then,  that  we  have  to  fear,  the  elevation  of 
reason,  and  the  depression  of  faith ;  observant  minds 
have  perceived  signs  of  this  already,  not  to  be  doubted 
or  mistaken,  among  some  of  the  more  intelligent  mem- 
bers of  our  churches.  The  roots  of  our  evangelical 
system  are  in  danger  of  being  eaten  into  by  this  canker 
worm,  and  the  heart  of  oiir  experimental  religion  of 
being  organically  diseased,  by  this  cold  and  paralyzing 
intellectuality.  Even  some  of  our  educated  religious 
operatives  begin  to  crave  after  something  newer  than  the 
gospe  ,  something  more  speculative  than  the  doctrines 
of  sa  /ation,  and  something  more  rational  than  faith. 
They  who  are  not  acquainted  with  the  workings  of  the 
popular  mind,  and  the  progress  of  opinion,  may  smile  at 
the  apprehensions  which  are  here  expressed  ;  but  others, 
more  attentive  to  the  course  of  events,  and  therefore  bet- 


TO    EARNESTNESS.  219 

ter  acqua'nted  w^th  them,  will  be  most  ready  t(  admit 
there  is  sotne  ground  for  alarm,  and  alundant  reason  for 
caution. 

Another  source  of  danger  must  be  also  mentioned  ; 
and  that  is  the  growing  taste,  in  an  opposite  direction  to 
thai  I  have  just  adverted  to,  for  formalism  and  super- 
stition—  a  religion  of  forms  and  ceremonies —  a  devo- 
■\ion  which  shall  have  more  to  do  with  the  imagination 
and  the  fancy,  than  with  the  understanding,  the  heart, 
and  conscience,  and  which  shall  gratify  the  possessor  of 
it  in  the  allowed  indulgence  of  his  owti  self-complacency. 
This  religion,  in  its  more  modified  forms,  is  Puseyism, 
and  in  its  full  development.  Popery.  The  illusion 
that  Popery  can  flourish  only  in  dark  ages,  and  in 
enslaved  countries,  begins  to  be  dispelled  by  the  facts 
that  have  lately  transpired  amidst  the  light  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  and  the  freedom  of  England.  The 
increase  of  Popery  in  this  country  is  no  longer  matter  of 
doubt ;  and  it  is  an  astounding'  and  somewhat  alarming 
fact,  that  its  efforts  have  kept  pace  with  the  extension  of 
education,  the  circulation  of  Bibles  and  tracts,  and  the 
formation  of  institutions  for  its  destruction.  How  shall 
we  account  for  this^  As  Protestants  ws  cannot  for  a 
moment  allow  that  there  is  more  in  Romanism  than  in 
its  antagonistic  system  to  commend  itself  to  the  unbiassed 
judgment  of  the  impartial  inquirer  ;  no,  it  is  to  be  ac- 
counted for,  by  the  greater  earnestness  of  its  advocates  ; 
and  what  a  deep  disgrace,  an  indelible  blot  is  it,  upon 
the  advocates  of  Protestantism,  that  they  should  be  ex- 
ceeded in  zeal  by  the  votaries  of  Romanism ;  that  the 
crucifix  should  be  the  fount  of  a  deeper  inspiration  than 
the  cross  !  How  are  we  to  account  for  that  extraordi- 
nary fact,  aud  solve  that  hard  problem,  that  error,  at 
least  in  very  .ttiany  cases,  according  to  appearance,  excites 
in  its  abettors  a  more  fervid  enthusiasm  than  truth  does 
in  hers  ? 

Such,  then,  are  the  influences,  — powerful  when  viewed 
separately,  how  much  more  so  when  combined  !  —  which 
are  exerted  in  this  extraordinary  age  against  rehgion  ; 
and  how  are  they  to  be  resisted  and  vanquished?  How 
shall  the  church  bear  up  against  such  opposition  ?     We 


220  INDUCEMENTS 

know  her  Dmne  head  lives.  The  infaUible,  omnipotent 
Pilot  is  at  hn-  helm,  and  though  the  tempest  rages,  and 
the  deep  is  stirred  up  from  the  very  bottom,  the  holy 
vessel  is  safe.  Yes,  but  even  this  divine  Pilot  demands 
the  attention,  the  subjection,  and  the  cooperation  of  the 
crew,  and  employs  their  instrumentality  for  the  presei-va- 
tion  of  the  sacred  bark. 

The  danger  is  not  to  be  warded  off  by  mere  systems 
of  ecclesiastical  polity  ;  these,  in  proportion  as  they  are 
brought  into  conformity  with  the  Word  of  God,  may  do 
something  ;  and  may,  and  should,  be  sustained  with  a 
zeal  proportioned  to  their  importance  ;  but  of  themselves, 
without  a  pervading  spirit  of  evangelical  piety,  they  will 
be  no  better  defence  against  popery,  infidelity,  and  an 
anti-Christian  philosophy,  than  would  be  a  breakwater  of 
sand  or  wicker-work,  against  the  assault  of  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  in  a  storm.  Nor  will  any  mode  of  worship, 
whether  arranged  according  to  liturgical  order,  or  left 
free  for  the  occasion.  No,  nor  the  most  approved  or- 
thodox systems  of  theology  ;  the  most  noble,  and  even 
scriptural,  confessions  of  faith  ;  nor  creeds  that  can  boast 
the  highest  antiquity,  and  the  consent  of  the  whole  catho- 
lic church.  The  spirit  that  is  coming  over  Christendom 
laughs  at  all  these  things,  when  left  to  themselves,  like 
leviathan  at  "  the  shaking  of  a  spear,"  "  esteeming  iron 
as  straw,  and  brass  as  rotten  wood."  What  did  creeds, 
catechisms,  and  symbols,  accomplish  for  Switzerland, 
where  Rationalism  and  IJnitarianism,  in  spite  of  them, 
have  covered  the  scene  of  Calvin's  labors  ;  or  in  Ger- 
many, where  they  have  desolated  the  garden  of  the  Lord, 
planted  by  Luther  and  Melancthon  1  A  cold  and  heart- 
less orthodoxy,  however  clear,  wins  no  more  respect  from 
infidelity  or  philosophy,  than  the  gorgeous  rites  of  super- 
stition. An  effete  and  languid  church,  a  church  of  which 
the  vis  vitcB  of  experimental  religion  is  low  —  of  which 
the  pulse  beats  feebly  and  slowly  —  of  which,  whatever 
deceptive  show  of  health  there  may  be  upon  the  counte- 
nance, the  vitals  are  diseased  —  of  which  it  may  be  said, 
thou  hast  a  name  to  live,  and  art  dead  —  such  a  church 
cannot  stand  the  shock  which  may  be  made  upon  our  faith. 

What  is  it,  then,  which  we  must  oppose  to  the  swelling 


TO    EAHNESTNESS.  221 

tide  of  opposition,  should  it  rise  against  the  evangelism 
of  the  New  Testament,  and  by  which  we  may  invest  the 
church  with  a  power,  not  only  to  stand  her  ground,  but 
to  advance?  What?  Earnest  religion.  A  church 
in  earnest  can  never  be  vanquished,  or  even  effectually 
opposed.  It  is  the  union  of  two  things,  which  ought 
never  to  be  separated,  I  mean  sound  doctrine  and  the 
SPIRITUAL  LIFE  —  an  intelligent,  public,  courageous  pro- 
fession of  evangelical  truth,  and  the  inward  power  of  that 
truth  upon  the  affections  ;  the  clearness  of  a  martyr's 
intellect  to  perceive  the  nature  and  the  value  of  Christian 
doctrine  —  the  ardor  of  his  zeal  in  espousing  it  —  the  love 
of  his  heart  in  embracing  it  —  and  the  integrity  of  his 
conscience  in  being  Avilling  to  die  for  it.  An  enthusiasm 
of  feeling  which  is  not  fed  by  an  intelligent  apprehension 
of  doctrine,  will  soon  expire  of  itself,  or  be  extinguished 
by  the  breath  of  opposition  ;  an  emotionless  and  merely 
scientific  profession  of  doctrine,  which  leaves  the  heart 
without  warmth,  and  the  life  without  holiness,  is  scarcely 
worth  retaining,  and  in  the  hour  of  trial  will  be  thought 
scarcely  worth  contending  for,  and  either  thrown  away  in 
contempt,  or  yielded  up  to  the  foe. 

Let  the  orthodoxy  of  our  churches  be  well  and  vigor- 
ously maintained  ;  let  there  be  no  relaxation  here  ;  let 
the  doctrines  of  the  Trinity,  the  fall  and  inherent  de- 
pravity of  man,  the  atonement,  justification  by  faith,  re- 
generation by  the  Spirit,  and  the  sovereignty  of  divine 
grace  in  man's  salvation,  be  considered  as  the  very  life's 
blood  of  our  piety  ;  let  these  great  fundamental  doctrines, 
or  facts,  for  such  undoubtedly  they  are,  and  as  such 
should  be  considered,  be  held  fast  by  us,  not  as  cold,  dry 
dogmas,  but  as  living  principles  of  the  heart,  imparting 
and  maintaining  a  new  and  vigorous  existence  to  the  soul ; 
and  then  may  we  confidently  and  triumphantly  bid  de- 
fiance to  the  combined  forces  of  all  the  enemies  of  religion 
and  the  church.  There  has  come  upon  us  of  late  years 
a  kind  of  creed-hatred,  so  intense  that  many  shudder  at 
the  idea  of  catechisms,  confessions,  and  articles,  as  if 
under  all  circumstances  they  were  a  fetter  upon  our  lib 
erty,  and  a  snare  for  our  conscience !  But  is  not  Ihii 
19 


222  INDUCEMENTS 

alarm  groundless  1  D'Aubigne's  words  on  this  subject 
are  full  of  wisdom  :  "As  for  those  who  know  what  sal- 
vation in  Christ  really  is,  what  harm  can  the  articles  do 
them  1  None  !  indeed,  rather  the  reverse.  Every  true 
Christian  has  a  spiritual  life,  an  inward  history,  composed 
of  distinct  phases  —  faith,  repentance,  justification,  and 
conversion  ;  sanctification,  peace,  joy,  and  hope.  It  is 
requisite  both  for  the  sake  of  others,  as  for  his  own,  that 
he  should  profess  the  great  doctrines  to  which  his  inner 
life  corresponds.  Poor  and  ignorant  Christians — and 
these  are  the  greater  number  —  would  not  know  how  to 
do  this.  If  the  church  to  which  they  belong  presents 
to  them  an  evangelical  confession  of  faith,  at  once  plain 
and  profound,  it  renders  them  a  very  useful  assistance. 
Theologians  could,  no  doubt,  without  a  creed,  easily  give 
utterance  to  their  faith,  but  we  m.ust  think  first  of  the 
poor  and  simple  of  the  flock.  Men  of  the  world  segard 
the  articles  of  faith  of  the  Reformation  as  antiquated 
forms,  because  unnecessary  in  the  present  age.  This 
error  arises  from  their  having  never  experienced  in  their 
hearts  that  faith  in  Christ  which  is  the  same  in  every  age. 
Those  confessions  of  Christian  hope  which  our  fathers 
made  even  in  the  face  of  Rome,  and  for  the  sake  of  which 
so  many  martjTS  have  ascended  the  scaffold,  can  never 
grow  old,  can  never  lose  that  divine  fire  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  imparted  to  them.  It  has  been  said,  '  The  articles 
are  useless  to  the  church  ;  the  Bible  is  sufficient.'  But 
most  frequently,  at  least  upon  the  Continent,  those  who 
will  not  have  confessions  of  faith  will  not  have  the  Bible 
either.  A^ery  lately,  one  of  the  most  eminent  Protestant 
clergymen  of  Germany,  Dr.  Ammon,  first  preacher  of 
the  court  at  Dresden,  a  rationalist,  but  yet  an  enlightened 
theologian,  made  this  candid  avowal  :  '  Experience  teaches 
us  that  those  who  reject  a  creed  will  speedily  reject  the 
Holy  Scriptures  themselves.'  The  importance  given  to 
doctrine  in  the  Church  of  England  is  her  safeguard. 
Without  it,  she  would  long  ago  have  fallen  beneath  the 
assaults,  not  of  rationalism,  but  of  traditionalism  and  su- 
perstition. Let  the  ministers  and  members  of  the  church 
set  forth  and  maintain  once  more  the  pure  doctrines  of 
grace,  as  contamed  in  the  Bible,  and  stated  in  the  thirty- 


TO    EARNESTNESS.  223 

nine  articles  ;  let  them  raise  on  high,  and  firmly  wave, 
that  glorious  si  indard,  and  the  evil  spirits  will  flee  away." 
And  in  his  remarks  on  Scotland,  the  same  author  asks, 
"What  has  secured  Scotland  this  eminent  ranlc  of  being 
at  the  present  period  the  vanguard  of  Christ's  army  1  I 
hesitate  not  to  reply,  '  Her  attachment  to  sound  doctrine.' 
[t  is"?  because  doctrine  is  placed  so  high,  that  the  church 
meets  with  so  much  sympathy.  Whenever  doctrine  is 
not  Cared  for,  the  people  care  little  for  the  church,  and 
a  miserable  esprit  de  corps  alone  remains,  which  is  the 
most  opposed  of  any  to  a  Christian  spirit.  The  ch,..ch 
itself  is  doctrine.  The  most  characteristic  distinction 
between  the  Christian  church  and  Paganism,  Mahom- 
etanism,  and  Deism,  either  pure  or  Socinian,  is  the 
Christian  doctrine,  as  essentially  different  from  the  Pagan, 
Mahometan,  Deistical,  or  Socinian  doctrines.  This  also 
distinguishes  the  Roman  from  the  Protestant  church. 
Observe,  when  I  speak  of  doctrine,  I  do  not  mean  a  cold, 
arid,  lifeless  orthodoxy  ;  I  mean  '  the  doctrine  which  is 
according  to  godhness,'  as  the  apostle  says  ;  '  that  doc- 
trine which  produces  life.'  The  Scottish  theologian 
places  himself  at  once  in  the  centre  of  the  Christian  doc- 
trine ;  it  is  on  faith  in  the  reconciliation  by  the  expiatory 
sacrifice  that  he  takes  his  stand.  This  grand  dogma, 
which  tells  us  at  once  of  the  sin  of  man,  and  the  grace 
of  God  •  this  fundamental  doctrine,  which  contains,  on 
the  one  hand,  the  consciousness  of  our  guilt,  and,  on  the 
other,  the  assurance  of  an  irrevocable  counsel  of  mercy 
and  salvation,  is  the  vivifying  centre  of  Scottish  theology. 
Faith  in  the  Lamb  of  God  who  has  borne  the  sins  of  the 
world  ;  this  is  the  milk  with  which  the  Scottish  child  is 
fed  in  the  schools  of  the  towns,  the  mountains,  and  the 
plains  ;  and  the  strong  meat  whose  nourishing  juices  are 
dispensed  by  the  theologians  of  Edinburgh  or  Glasgow 
CO  the  future  ministers  of  the  church." 

All  this  is  admonitory  to  us  ;  and  should  remind  us  of 
he  fact,  and  deeply  impress  us  with  it  also,  that  it  is 
3nly  by  holding  up  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  as  the  prin- 
ciple of  faith  and  spiritual  life,  we  can  hope  to  preserve 
the  church  from  being  imperilled  by  tbe  spirit  of  the  age. 
This  is  the  true  breakwater  which  alone  can  resist  the 


224  INDUCEMENTS 

billows  of  prevailing  errors,  and  protect  the  vessels  which 
lie  peacefully  at  anchor  in  the  harbor.  Let  our  pastors 
diffuse  these  great  doctrines  among  their  flocks,  and  lift 
them  on  high  in  the  pulpit.  Let  there,  I  repeat,  be  no 
coquetting  with  a  false  philosophy,  and  no  complimenting, 
by  the  suppression  of  the  truth,  even  a  true  one.  The 
doctrines  just  before  enumerated  must  be  the  very  staple 
of  their  sermons.  Let  the  people  also  look  for,  require, 
and  live  upon,  these  truths.  The  man  who  habitually 
suppresses  them,  or  studiously  avoids  them,  with  what- 
ever of  novelty,  eloquence,  or  profundity  of  thought  and 
expression,  he  attempts  to  supply  their  place,  should  be 
viewed  as  a  suspected  man  —  he  who  sparingly  intro- 
duces them,  as  a  lukewarm  man  —  and  he  only,  who 
dwells  much  and  earnestly  upon  them,  as  an  acceptable 
man.  In  a  philosophic  age,  and  among  an  enlightened 
people,  Paul  "  determined  to  know  nothing  but  Jesus 
Christ  and  him  crucified  ;"  and  it  would  be  difficult  for 
any  man  to  find  a  reason  why  this  rule  of  apostolic  min- 
istry should  be  departed  from  in  this  day.  True  it  is 
that  ignorance  would  circumscribe  the  doctrine  of  the 
cross  within  narrower  limits  than  the  apostle  mtended, 
since  every  portion  of  revealed  truth  has  its  centre  there ; 
but  still,  the  doctrine  of  the  cross  must  be  the  great  theme 
of  preaching  in  every  age,  and  in  ours  among  the  rest. 
I  say,  with  all  possible  deliberation,  and  with  equal  em- 
phasis, to  the  churches,  let  nothing  less,  nothing  else 
than  this,  satisfy  you.  This  is  the  bread  of  life,  which 
coraeth  down  from  heaven  for  the  nourishment  of  your 
souls  ;  without  which  you  will  starve  and  perish.  You 
can  live  on  nothing  else.  Say,  therefore,  to  your  minis- 
ters, "  Evermore  give  as  this  bread."  Do  not  accept  of 
the  stones  of  metaphysics  or  logic,  instead  of  this,  nor 
the  flowers  of  rhetoric,  nor  even  the  fruits  of  science  or 
literature.  Let  your  request  be  for  bread,  the  living 
bread,  which  is  Christ.  It  is  no  favorable  sign  of  health 
when  the  palate  has  ceased  to  relish  bread  and  meat,  and 
is  ever  craving  after  novelties,  and  can  be  pleased  only 
with  the  piquant  dishes  of  an  inventive  and  artificial 
cooker)\  Such  a  taste  indicates  incipient  disease,  and 
prognosticates  its  increase.    The  parallel  case  in  spiritual 


TO    EARNESTNESS.  22-5 

things  is  to  be  found  in  those  hearers  of  the  Word  of  God 
who  have  grown  tired  of  Bible  truth,  the  bread  and  meat  of 
the  gospel,  and  can  relish  nothing  but  poetic  sentimentalism 

—  rhetorical  imaginativeness —  or  religious  Carlylism. 

I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  whole  system  of  Christ's 
mediation  is  to  be  brought  into  every  sermon,  for  I  am  of 
opinion  that  the  pulpit  may  be  sometimes  employed  to 
explain  and  inculcate  other  subjects  than  such  as  are 
strictly  and  exclusively  doctrinal,  but  its  predominant 
character  should  be  truly  and  richly  evangelical.  It  will 
be  a  dark  sign  of  the  approach  of  an  evil  day, — and  there 
are  not  wanting  such  portents  upon  our  horizon  already, 

—  when  our  churches  in  choosing  their  pastors  shall  be 
guided  rather  by  a  regard  to  talent  than  to  piety  —  by  a 
love  for  eloquence,  rather  than  the  gospel. 

Not  that  piety  and  love  of  the  truth  constitute  the 
only  qualifications  of  an  able  minister  of  the  New  Cov- 
enant ;  or  should  be  the  sole  ground  on  which  a  church 
should  rest  its  choice  of  a  pastor.  By  no  means.  We 
must  have  men  of  talent,  especially  for  our  more  im- 
portant stations  —  men  that  will  command  attention  — 
men  that  will  have  power  over  the  public  mind,  and 
do  some  justice  to  the  high  themes  of  their  ministra- 
tion. But  when  talent  is  the  first  thing,  and  piety  and 
sound  doctrine  are  viewed  as  quite  secondary  matters  — 
where  the  declaration  is,  not,  — "  We  want  an  able 
preacher  of  the  gospel  ;  a  faithful  shepherd  ;  a  vigilant 
watchman  for  our  souls  ;"  but  —  "  We  must  have  a  grad- 
uate, a  scholar,  an  orator,  a  gentleman" — when  this  is 
the  state  of  things,  there  is  much  reason  for  alarm  in 
Zion.  Let  there  be  all  these  things  ;  no  man  is  the  worse 
for  them,  and  every  man  is  the  better  for  them,  and  the 
more  he  has  of  them  the  better,  viewed  as  secondary 
qualifications  ;  but  for  Christ's  sake,  for  the  gospel's  sake, 
for  our  denomination's  sake,  for  the  sake  of  immortal 
souls,  and  the  salvation  of  a  lost  world,  let  them  be 
viewed  but  as  secondary,  while  the  higher  place  shall  be 
given  to  eminent  piety,  and  a  love  for  the  great  truths 
which  alone  bring  salvation.  It  is  affecting,  and  fearfully 
predictive  of  what  is  coming,  to  see  the  popularity,  in 
19* 


SS6  INDUCEMENTS 

some  instances,  of  men  who  are  grown  wiser  than  the 
apostle  Paul,  as  to  tiie  themes  of  their  pulpit  ministrations, 
and  to  hear  the  eulog-iums  pronounced  on  sermons  which 
would  have  made  him  weep.  Woe,  woe,  woe,  be  to  us, 
when  ar.  all  but  a  Christless  ministry  shall  be  welcome, 
because  it  happens  to  be  an  eloquent  one  ;  when  the ' 
doctrines  of  the  atonement,  justification,  regeneration, 
and  ^ace,  shall  be  set  aside  as  puritanic  themes,  which 
do  not  suit  tiie  circumstances  or  the  tastes  of  this  philo- 
sophical age  ! 

Let  me  repeat,  and  insist  a  little  more  at  length  upon, 
the  fact  that  it  is  not  doctrine  alone  that  will  meet  and 
successfully  oppose  the  infidel  spirit  of  this  generation. 
This  alone  never  has  been  sufficient  to  keep  out  and  keep 
down  error,  and  never  will  be.  This,  at  most,  will  be* 
but  as  the  corpse  and  the  panoply  of  the  strong  man 
armed,  set  up  for  the  protection  of  the  spiritual  house  ; 
what  is  wanted  in  addition  is  the  living  soul,  to  supply  the 
courage,  the  energy,  and  the  potency,  necessary  for  the 
defence.  Infidehty  will  not  run  away  in  terror  from  the 
lifeless  skeletons  of  our  theological  systems.  In  addition 
to  what  has  been  said  of  Germany  and  Switzerland,  it 
may  be  said  that  all  the  dissenting  churches  in  this  coun- 
try had  the  Assembly's  Catechism,  and  yet  how  many  of 
them  lapsed  into  Arianism,  and  then  into  Socinianism ! 
How  was  this  ?  Just  because  there  was  doctrine,  but  no 
life.  Persons  were  admitted  to  fellowship  upon  a  pro 
fession  of  doctrine,  without  giving  evidence  that  theii 
doctrines  had  become  the  principle  of  spiritual  life. 
The  doctrine  will  not  always  preserve  life,  but  life 
will  always  preserve  doctrine.  When  religion  is  resolved 
into  the  reception  of  certain  dogmas  apart  from  their  vital 
influence  ;  and  when  this  oneness  of  mere  sentimer.t, 
ratiier  than  a  principle  of  spiritual  life,  a  sympathy  of 
heart,  and  a  congeniality  of  soul,  are  made  the  basis  and 
ground  of  fellowship,  the  church  must  be  weak,  and  in 
no  state  to  meet  the  attacks  that  are  made  upon  it ;  and, 
indeed,  is  very  likely  soon  to  give  up  a  creed,  which,  hav- 
ing lost  its  chief  purpose  in  renewing,  sanctifying,  and 
comforting  the  soul,  has  ceased  to  be  of  any  value,  and 
therefore  of  any  importance.     It  is  when  the  members  all 


TO    EARNESTi>:ESS.  227 

grow  into  Christ  by  a  living-  faith,  and  into  each  other  by 
love,  that  the  body  is  strong,  both  for  defending  itself, 
and  carrying  on  aggressions  upon  the  world.  What 
is  wanted  for  all  times,  but  especially  for  this,  is  the  union 
of  the  contemplative  with  the  active  life.  Every  age, 
almost,  has  its  characteristic  vices  and  defects.  "  The 
Ascetics  and  the  Mystics  went  off  into  one  extreme  ;  they 
sought  in  retirement,  in  a  contemplative  abstraction,  and 
in  seraphic  raptures,  a  high  degree  of  holiness  and  joy. 
Their  contest  was,  not  with  sinful  appetites,  only  with 
innocent  ones  ;  their  following  Christ  was  not  in  the 
iDugh  and  arduous  pains  of  outward  service,  but  in  the 
concentration  of  powerful  and  pathetic  meditations  upon 
his  cross  and  passion.  The  arena  of  their  conflict  was 
wholly  within  ;  and  a  great  part  of  the  struggle  consisted 
in  resisting  the  languor  of  over-done  attention,  arresting  the 
vagrancy  of  volatile  thoughts,  and  rousing  the  ardor  of  feel- 
ings which  had  expended  themselves  by  their  very  inten- 
sity." Our  danger  and  defect  lie  in  an  opposite  extreme. 
In  this  age  of  external  activity,  we  want,  could  we  but 
command  it,  more  time,  and  more  inclination  to  cultivate 
the  hidden  life,  to  strengthen  its  principle,  and  to  allow 
its  development  in  all  its  beautiful  and  appropriate  exer- 
cises of  spirituality  of  feeling,  heavenly-mindedness,  and 
communion  with  God.  The  spiritual  life  with  us  is  low 
and  feeble,  and  for  want  of  retirement,  reading  the  Scrip- 
tures, meditation,  prayer,  and  rigid  mortification,  is  not  in 
a  state  to  resist  the  attacks  that  may  be  made  upon  our 
faith.  It  is  the  energy  of  the  heart,  which,  in  the  humaii 
frame,  nerves  the  arm  to  defend  the  head  ;  so  is  it  in  the 
spiritual  system.  D'Aubigne,  in  the  volume  to  which  i 
have  already  so  frequently  alluded,  furnishes,  by  a  recital 
of  his  own  religious  experience,  a  beautiful  proof  and 
illustration  of  this. 

After  his  conversion  to  God,  and  after  he  had  begun 
to  preach  Chiist  with  fulness  of  faith,  he  was  so  as- 
sailed and  perplexed,  hi  coming  into  Germany,  by  the 
sophisms  of  rationalism,  that  he  was  plunged  into  unutter- 
able distress,  and  passed  whole  nights  without  sleeping, 
crying  to  God  from  the  bottom  of  his  heart,  or  endeavor- 
ing, by  his  argruments  and  syllogisms  without  end,  to  repel 


INDUCEMENTS 

the  attacks  of  the  adversary.  In  his  perplexity  he  visited 
Kleuker,  a  venerable  divine  at  Kiel,  who  for  forty  years 
had  been  defending  Christianity  against  the  attacks  of 
infidel  theologians.  Before  this  admirable  man  D'Au- 
bigne  laid  his  doubts  and  difficulties  for  solution  ;  instead 
of  doing  this,  Kleuker  replied,  —  "  Were  I  to  succeed  in 
ridding  you  of  them,  others  would  soon  rise  up.  There 
is  a  shorter,  deeper,  and  more  complete  way  of  annihi- 
lating them.  Let  Christ  be  really  to  you  the  Son  of  God, 
the  Saviour,  the  Author  of  eternal  life.  Only  be  fir«fily 
settled  in  his  grace,  and  then  these  difficulties  of  detail 
will  never  stop  you  ;  the  light  which  proceeds  from 
Christ  will  disperse  all  darkness."  This  advice,  followed 
as  it  was  by  a  study  with  a  pious  fellow-traveller  at  an 
inn  at  Kiel,  of  Paul's  expression,  "  Now  unto  him 
who  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we 
ask  or  think,"  relieved  him  of  all  his  difficulties.  After 
reading  together  this  passage,  they  prayed  over  it.  — 
"When  I  arose,"  says  this  illustrious  man,  "in  that 
room  at  Kiel,  I  felt  as  if  my  wings  were  renewed  as  the 
wings  of  eagles.  From  that  time  forward  I  compre- 
hended that  my  own  syllogisms  and  effi^rts  were  of  no 
avail ;  that  Christ  was  able  to  do  all  by  his  power  that 
worketh  in  us  ;  and  the  habitual  attitude  of  my  soul  was 
to  be  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  crying  to  him,  — '  Here 
am  I,  bound  hand  and  foot,  unable  to  move,  unable  to  do 
the  least  thing  to  get  away  from  the  enemy  who  op- 
presses me.  Do  all  thyself.  I  knoio  that  thou  wilt  do  it, 
thou  wilt  even  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  I 
ask.'  I  was  not  disappointed.  All  my  doubts  were 
soon  dspelled,  and  not  only  was  I  delivered  from  that 
inward  anguish  which  in  the  end  would  have  destroyed 
me,  had  not  God  been  faithful,  but  the  Lord  extended 
unto  me  peace  like  a  river.  If  I  relate  these  things,  it 
is  not  as  my  own  history  —  not  the  history  of  myself  alone 
—  but  of  many  pious  young  men,  who,  in  Germany,  and 
even  elsewhere,  have  been  assailed  by  the  raging  waves 
of  rationalism.  Many,  alas  !  have  made  shipwreck  of 
their  faith,  and  some  have  even  violently  put  an  end  to 
their  lives." 

This  interesting  narrative  is  a  most  instructive  one,  as 


TO    EARNESTNESS. 


«^ 


teaching  that  the  defence  of  the  Christian,  and  therefore 
of  the  church — the  estabhshment  of  the  individual  mem- 
ber, and  of  the  whole  of  the  church  in  the  truth,  depends 
more  upon  faith  than  upon  reason,  and  is  to  be  sought 
rather  in  the  grace  of  the  heart,  than  in  the  strength  of 
the  intellect  —  and  that  therefore  to  become  feeble  in 
piety  is  to  let  down  our  defences,  and  to  expose  ourselves 
to  the  enemy.  He  who  is  "  strengthened  with  might 
by  the  Spirit  in  the  inner  man,"  and  who  is  "  rooted  and 
grounded  in  love,"  though  less  skilful  in  argument,  is  in 
a  far  better  condition  to  resist  the  subtleties  of  false  doc- 
trine, than  he  who  is  stronger  in  argument,  but  weaker 
in  faith.  The  hidden  life  within  him  is  vigorous ;  and 
rich  in  the  enjoyment  of  divine  love,  he  is  strong  in  the 
Lord,  and  the  power  of  his  might:  and  though  the 
strength  of  the  human  intellect,  the  chain  of  sound  rea- 
soning, and  the  conclusions  of  a  just  logic,  when  em- 
ployed in  elaborate  defences  of  our  faith,  are  of  inestima- 
ble worth  ;  yet,  after  all,  it  is  to  the  blessing  of  God  on 
the  internal  vigor  of  her  own  piety,  that  the  church  is 
indebted  for  her  stabihty,  more  than  to  these  outworks, 
which  are  cast  up,  from  time  to  time,  by  her  ablest  de- 
fenders. 

VI.  I  now  mention,  as  another  inducement  to  seek  an 
earnest  religion,  the  circumstances  of  the  age,  viewed  in 
connection  with  the  spread  of  Christianity  and  as  bearing 
upon  the  moral  interests  of  the  world.  The  church  was 
never  called  to  a  greater  work  than  she  is  at  this  moment, 
nor  was  the  call  of  Providence  upon  her  ever  more  loud, 
earnest,  or  unequivocal.  There  is  no  possibility  of  mis- 
taking it,  and  there  ought  to  be  neither  hesitation,  delay, 
nor  negligence,  in  obeying  it.  That  work  is  the  conver- 
sion of  the  world  ;  and  for  which  all  possible  facilities  in 
the  way  of  means,  instruments,  and  appliances,  have 
been,  and  are  still  being,  collected.  Let  us  look  at  the 
sphere  of  operation  opened  to  us  —  let  us  survey  the 
territory  that  is  added  to  our  foreign  empire  —  there  is 
nearly  all  Hindostan,  with  its  hundred  and  fifty  millions 
of  inhabitants,  nearly  every  portion  of  which  is  accessi- 
ble to  our  Christian  influence  —  then  there  are  Burmah, 
Siam,  Cochin  China,  all  beginning  to  receive  missionaries 


230  INDUCEMENTS 

—  next  come  our  colonies  in  Canada,  Australia,  New 
Zealand,  Van  Dieman's  Land,  and  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  What  a  scope  here  for  the  energies  and  influence 
of  the  church  —  what  a  sphere  to  occupy  and  fill  with 
our  missionaries,  our  Bibles,  and  our  churches  !  Let  us 
dwell  upon  that  most  marvellous  and  glorious  achievement 
of  modern  times,  the  opening  into  China  by  five  doors, 
which  no  power  but  that  of  Omnipotence  can  ever  close, 
and  through  w^hich  our  religion  may  pass  to  the  teeming 
millions  of  that  vast  hive  of  human  beings.  We  may 
mention  Madagascar,  closed  against  us  at  present,  but 
which,  at  the  death  of  the  present  queen,  and  who,  for 
aught  we  can  tell,  may  die  the  next  hour,  or  may  be 
dead  while  this  is  being  penned,  will  be  throw^n  wide 
open  to  our  holy  enterprise.  Can  we  forget  Polynesia, 
yielding  up  itself,  with  its  hundreds  of  islands,  to  the 
influence  of  the  gospel  1 

Next,  let  us  consider  the  means  of  rapid  and  safe  com- 
munication opened  to  those  distant  spheres  of  our  holy 
activity  by  steam  navigation,  and  to  the  interior  of  the 
countries  by  railways  ;  so  that  oceans  seem  to  be  bridged 
over,  and  the  extremities  of  continents  to  be  brought  near 
to  each  other.  We  may  add  to  this  that  most  surprising 
of  all  modern  inventions,  the  electric  telegraph,  by  which 
intelligence,  as  upon  the  lightning's  wing,  might  be  con- 
veyed in  a  few  seconds,  could  the  wires  reach  as  far, 
round  the  circumference  of  the  globe.  Nor  is  this  all, 
for  we  cannot  but  know  how  the  arts  have  multiplied 
and  cheapened  all  the  means  and  instruments  of  the 
church's  work  ;  how  chemistry,  by  its  various  appliances, 
has  reduced  the  price  of  paper  —  how  mechanics,  by 
means  of  stereotype  and  the  steam  press,  have  lowered 
the  cost  of  printing,  till  a  bound  copy  of  the  whole 
Scriptures  can  be  purchased  for  ten  pence.  Nor  does 
the  work  of  Providence  stop  here.  What  a  marvellous 
orogress  has  been  made  of  late  years  in  those  researches 
vhich  lie  more  remote  from  popular  notice,  and  in  their 
importance  are  less  obvious  to  popular  comprehension, 
but  which  have  still  a  close  connection  with  the  spread  of 
Christianity  in  the  world  —  I  mean  the  discoveries  which 
have  been  made  by  learned  and  exploring  minds  concern- 


TO    EARNESTNESS.  231 

ing  the  origin,  affinity,  and  ancestry,  of  nadons,  theit 
language,  their  customs,  their  religion,  and  their  tradi- 
tions !  The  hieroglyphics  of  Egypt  have  at  length  con- 
fessed their  secrets,  hidden  from  the  ages  and  genera- 
tions that  are  past ;  while  from  its  pictured  tombs  its 
history  has  obtained  a  resurrection,  confirmatory,  in 
various  vt-ays,  of  the  truth  of  Old  Testament  history. 
The  cuniform  inscriptions  of  Perseopolis,  like  the  mystic 
characters  in  the  temples  on  the  Nile,  are  beginning  to 
be  understood  and  deciphered.  The  analogies  of  the 
various  systems  of  idolatry  are  being  traced  and  exhibited. 
There  are  inquisitive  and  profoundly  learned  men,  who, 
amidst  the  shadows  of  the  Pyramids  —  in  the  circles  of 
the  Druids  —  or  before  the  massive  rock  temples  of 
Iran,  "  are  thinking  of  the  way,  and  showing  it  too,  in 
which,  from  the  very  first,  man  has  been  dealing  with 
and  corrupting  the  majesty  of  religion,  and  with  him  who 
of  that  religion  is  the  Author  and  the  Object.  Every 
flame,  every  hieroglyphic,  every  ancient  sculpture,  and 
every  curious  legend,  suggests  some  glorious  truth, 
which  man  has  labored  to  improve  by  his  own  imagina- 
tions, but  which  is  buried  in  the  lie  which  man  hath 
made."  Yes,  but  from  that  grave,  dug  by  the  hand  of 
falsehood,  shall  those  glorious  truths  arise,  and  be  shown 
by  missionaries  competent  to  the  work,  to  the  people 
who,  in  their  own  superstitions,  have  had  the  sepulchres 
of  truth. 

Now  let  all  this  accumulation  of  means  and  instruments 
be  taken  into  account,  in  their  number,  variety,  and 
adaptation,  and  we  shall  certainly  and  impressively  see 
what  advantages  we  possess  for  doing  a  great  work  for 
God  upon  earth. 

It  is  not,  however,  simply  in  this  light  that  I  view 
these  matters ;  that  is,  as  furnishing  the  opportunity  for 
labor,  but  as  being  a  loud  and  impressive  call  from  God 
to  embrace  it.  Under  whose  administration  has  all  this 
been  done,  and  for  what  purpose  has  he  done  it,  within 
so  short  a  space  of  time  ?  These  questions  are  answered 
by  the  apostle  where  he  says,  "  He  is  Head  over  all 
THINGS  TO  HIS  CHURCH."  Ycs  —  scicncc  and  the  arts 
—  commerce  and  war — philosophy  and  literature,  are 


232  INDUCEMENTS 

his  pioneers  for  levelling  mountains,  filling-  up  valleys^ 
and  preparing  the  way  of  the  Lord  in  the  desert,  that  his 
glory  may  be  revealed,  and  all  flesh  see  it  together. 
The  engi  leers,  and  the  craftsmen,  and  the  literati,  have 
had  other  objects  in  view  ;  but  who  can  for  a  moment 
doubt  that  he  who  raised  up  Cyrus  of  old  to  set  free  his 
people,  has  prepared  these  instruments  to  subserve  his 
own  purpose  of  civilizing  and  evangelizing  all  nations  ? 
From  every  part  of  the  world,  and  from  every  scene  of 
human  activity  —  from  India  and  China,  from  the  islands 
of  the  South  Sea,  and  from  the  continent  of  Africa,  from 
the  colonies,  and  the  West  Indies  —  the  sound  is  heard 
pealing  over  the  land,  "I  the  Lord  have  given  you 
power  and  wealth  —  empire  and  dominion — ships,  col- 
onics, and  commerce ;  and  have  added  to  all  this,  steam 
navigation  and  railways,  stereotype  and  printing  by 
steam  ;  for  this  also  cometh  from  the  Lord,  who  teacheth 
man  discretion,  who  is  wonderful  in  counsel,  and  excel- 
lent in  working.  And  now,  by  all  these  things,  glorify 
me,  and  set  up  my  kingdom  in  the  world."  Providence 
was  never  more  conspicuous  in  its  operations,  nor  more 
intelligible  and  uymistakable  in  its  intentions,  than  at  the 
present  moment,  A  preparation  is  going  on  for  some 
great  moral  revolution  of  our  world  ;  against  which  infi- 
delity, popery,  and  false  philosophy,  are  arraying  them- 
selves in  an  opposition  fierce  and  determined.  The 
forces  on  both  sides  are  still  moving  to  the  conflict 
already  begun,  and  raging  in  the  valley  of  decision.  To 
be  negligent,  dilatory,  and  indolent  now ;  to  hang  back 
and  give  up  ourselves  to  personal  ease  and  enjoyment 
now,  is  to  bring  upon  ourselves  the  ancient  denunciation 
upon  a  Jewish  city,  of  whom  Jehovah  said,  in  righteous 
indignation,  "  Curse  ye  Meroz,  curse  ye  bitterly  the  in- 
habitants thereof,  because  they  came  not  to  the  help  of 
the  Lord,  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty." 
But  for  such  a  work  what  qualifications  of  an  intense 
and  earnest  religion  are  indispensable  !  The  work  with- 
out this  may  go  on  ;  yet  it  will  go  on  but  slowly.  It 
is  not  enough  for  Christians,  in  common  with  their  fel- 
low-citizens, to  stand  and  wonder  at  the  progress  of 
events,  and  compliment  themselves  on  being  born  in  an 


TO    EARNESTNESS.  233 

age  of  deep  interest  and  importance  ;  they  must  see  in 
all  these  events  so  many  incentives  to  a  fervent  piety 
as  indicating  the  intentions  and  sounding  forth  the  call 
of  Providence;  and  as  presenting  to  them  the  great 
object,  which,  amidst  all  their  schemes  and  activities, 
must  be  recognized  and  pursued  as  the  end  of  their  ex- 
istence. 

YII.  The  political  aspect  of  the  times  supplies 
another  motive  to  the  church,  for  an  earnest  and  intelli- 
gent piety.  I  am  now  writing  amidst  the  unlooked  for 
and  stupendous  events  which  have  occurred  in  France 
within  the  last  few  weeks  ;  and  which,  as  by  an  electric 
shock,  have  so  rapidly  extended  their  influence  over  the 
whole  continent.  In  these  tremendous  convulsions,  we 
recognize  the  continuous  throes  of  the  fearful  earthquake 
which  more  than  half  a  century  ago  convulsed  all  Europe 
to  its  centre  ;  and  we  behold,  after  a  temporary  lull,  the 
continuance  of  the  hurricane,  which  in  its  progress  sub- 
verted so  many  thrones,  and  devastated  so  many  nations. 
As  then,  so  now,  the  friends  of  liberty  are  exulting  in 
the  prospects  which  are  opening  before  the  world.  We 
are  forcibly  reminded  of  the  eloquent  language  of  Mr. 
HaJl,  in  surveying  the  first  revolution  in  France.  "  An 
attention  to  the  political  aspect  of  the  world  is  not  now 
the  fruit  of  an  idle  curiosity,  or  the  amusement  of  a  dissi- 
pated and  frivolous  mind,  but  is  awakened  and  1/ept 
alive  by  occurrences  as  various  as  they  are  extraordinary. 
There  are  times  when  the  moral  world  seems  to  stand 
still ;  there  are  others  when  it  is  impelled  towards  its 
goal  with  an  accelerated  force.  The  present  is  a  period 
more  interesting,  perhaps,  than  any  which  has  been 
known  in  the  whole  flight  of  time.  The  scenes  of 
Providence  thicken  upon  us  so  fast,  and  are  shifted  with 
so  strange  a  rapidity,  as  if  the  great  drama  of  the 
world  were  drawing  to  a  close.  Events  have  taken 
place,  and  revolutions  have  been  effected,  which,  had 
they  been  foretold  a  very  few  years  [weeks]  ago,  would 
have  been  viewed  as  visionary  and  extravagant,  and 
tlieir  influence  is  far  from  being  spent.  Europe  never 
presented  such  a  spectacle  before,  and  it  is  worthy  of 
20 


234  INDUCEMENTS 

being  contemplated  with  the  profoundest  attention  by  all 
its  inhabitants.  The  empire  of  darkness  and  of  des- 
potism has  been  smitten  with  a  stroke  that  has  sounded 
through  the  universe.  When  we  see  whole  kingdoms, 
after  reposing  for  centuries  on  the  lap  of  their  rulers, 
start  from  their  slumber,  the  dignity  of  man  rising  up 
from  depression,  and  tyrants  trembling  on  their  thrones, 
who  can  remain  entirely  indifferent,  or  fail  to  turn  his 
eyes  to  a  theatre  so  august  and  extraordinary  1  These 
are  a  kind  of  throes  and  struggles  of  nature  to  which 
it  would  be  a  sullenness  to  refuse  our  sympathy.  Old 
foundations  are  breaking  up  ;  new  edifices  are  rearing. 
Prospects  are  opening  on  every  side,  of  such  amazing 
variety  and  extent,  as  to  stretch  farther  than  the  eye  cf 
the  most  enlightened  observer  can  reach."  Alas,  for 
the  vicissitudes  of  earthly  affairs,  and  the  vanity  of 
human  hopes !  These  jubilant  and  exulting  strains, 
penned  in  the  year  1791,  were  soon  succeeded  by  the 
following  still  more  eloquent  passage  by  the  same  writer, 
and  in  reference  to  the  same  events.  "  It  had  been  the 
constant  boast  of  infidels,  that  their  system,  more  liberal 
and  generous  than  Christianity,  needed  but  to  be  tried 
to  produce  an  immense  accession  to  human  happiness ; 
and  Christian  nations,  careless  and  supine,  retaining  little 
of  Christianity  but  the  profession,  and  disgusted  with 
its  restraints,  lent  a  favorable  ear  to  their  pretension. 
God  permitted  the  trial  to  be  made.  In  one  country, 
and  that  the  centre  of  Christendom,  revelation  under- 
went a  total  eclipse,  while  atheism,  performing  on  a 
darkened  theatre  its  strange  and  fearful  tragedy,  con- 
founded the  first  elements  of  society,  blended  every  age, 
rank,  and  sex,  in  indiscriminate  proscription  and  mas- 
sacre, and  convulsed  all  Europe  to  its  centre  ;  that  the 
imperishable  memorial  of  these  events  might  lead  the 
last  generations  of  mankind  to  consider  religion  as  the 
pillar  of  society,  the  safeguard  of  nations,  the  parent  of 
social  order,  which  alone  has  power  to  curb  the  fury  of 
the  passions,  and  to  secure  to  every  one  his  rights  ;  to 
tlie  laborious  the  reward  of  their  industry,  to  the  rich 
the  enjoyment  of  their  wealth,  to  the  nobles  the  preser- 


TO    EARNESTNESS. 


235 


vation  of  their  lienors,  and  to  princes  the  stabil  ity  of  their 
thrones." 

The  contrast  presented  in  these  two  splendid  pas- 
sages, between  the  expected  and  the  real  results  of  the 
first  revolution  in  France,  together  with  the  disappoint 
ment  experienced  in  the  consequences  of  the  second., 
should  impose  some  caution  in  the  anticipation  of  Ihe 
effects  of  the  third.  A  nation  so  slow  to  learn  by  the 
two  previous  visitations,  affords  but  a  feeble  hope  that  it 
will  profit  much  by  the  third  opportunity  of  improve- 
ment which  is  now  granted  it.  When  it  is  considered 
that  France  is  shared  between  a  revived  Popery  and  a 
rampant  infidelity  —  that  there  is  a  deplorable  destitu- 
tion of  moral  principle  pervading  all  ranks  —  and  that  its 
political  crimes  against  Algeria,  Tahiti,  and  Spain,  cry 
aloud  to  God  for  vengeance  —  and  when  to  this  it  is 
added  that  its  present  situation  is  that  of  the  most  com- 
plete ochlocracy  ever  exhibited  in  a  civilized  country, 
there  is  reason  to  apprehend  that  what  we  have  yet  wit- 
nessed may  prove  only  the  prologue  of  the  repetition  of 
the  awful  drama  again  to  be  performed  in  that  irrehgious 
land. 

Let  passing  events  issue  as  they  may,  either  in  the 
dreadful  struggles  of  another  war,  or  in  the  quiet  exten- 
sion of  political  freedom,  there  is  a  high  and  sacred 
duty  resulting  to  the  church  of  God  from  the  present 
posture  of  affairs.  Our  obligations  are  obvious  and  im- 
perative. It  is  ours  to  survey  the  progress  of  the 
storm,  not  merely  with  the  feverish  excitement,  and 
fluctuating  hopes,  of  the  mere  politician,  but  with  the 
serene  confidence  of  the  Christian.  We  must  remem- 
ber that  Jesus  Christ  is  "  head  over  all  things  to  his 
church,"  and  feel  assured  that  the  rise  and  fall  :f  em- 
pires are  subservient  to  the  accomplishment  of  his  pur- 
poses. It  is  not  merely  the  extension  of  liberty,  how- 
ever valuable  and  important  that  may  be,  but  religion, 
that  must  be  in  our  hopes.  Our  prayers  should  be  con- 
tinually ascending  to  God,  for  the  subjugation  of  all 
these  changes  to  the  wider  establishment  of  that  king- 
dom which  cannot  be  moved.  Special  meetings  for 
prayer  ought  to  be  held  with  reference  to  these  e  rents. 


236  INDUCEBIENTS 

How  important  is  it,  that  whether  the  nations  are  to  be 
scourged  by  war,  or  blessed  with  hberty  and  peace,  they 
should  have  their  attention  drawn  to  the  church,  as,  by 
her  eminent  piety,  the  seat  of  repose,  and  the  circle  of 
bliss  !  In  what  an  attractive  form,  at  once  lovely  and 
awful,  should  she  appear  to  the  'children  of  men,  strug- 
gling and  wearying  themselves  in  seeking  after  that 
happiness  in  political  reforms  which  religion  only  can 
supply  !  Perhaps  new  openings  are  about  to  be  made  foi 
the  evangelization  of  the  continent  of  Europe.  Popery 
has  little  to  hope,  and  everything  to  fear,  from  the 
transactions  which  are  going  on  in  Italy,  in  France,  and 
in  Germany.  The  prospects  of  the  Jesuits  become 
more  and  more  gloomy.  The  stability  of  the  Papacy 
itself  is  coming  into  jeopardy.  The  very  seat  of  the 
Beast  totters.  On  the  other  hand,  infidelity  is  becoming 
emboldened,  even  to  audacity,  by  these  changes  ;  and 
there  is  no  doubt  that  it  has  had  some  hand  in  bringing 
them  about,  for  infidels  have  been  often  God's  pioneers. 
Christians,  rarely  has  Providence  addressed  you  with  a 
voice  more  impressive  than  that  by  which  it  now  speaks 
to  you.  It  is  possible  that  every  obstruction  in  the 
way  of  spreading  the  gospel  on  the  Continent  may  be 
about  to  be  removed,  by  the  proclamation  of  freedom 
of  conscience,  and  the  liberty  of  the  press.  You,  there- 
fore, should  be  preparing  yourselves  by  a  fresh  baptism  of 
the  Spirit  for  your  high  vocation.  Rise,  O,  rise  above 
the  region  of  politics,  into  that  of  religion  !  Connect 
with  all  that  is  going  on,  the  idea  of  a  grand  develop- 
ment of  God's  plan  of  mercy  for  our  apostate  world. 
Feel  as  if  you  must,  for  and  by  these  things,  be  men  of 
stronger  faith  and  more  fervent  prayer.  Let  it  be  a  con- 
viction deeply  rooted  in  the  mind  of  every  one  of  you, 
that  there  needs  for  such  an  age,  and  amidst  such  revo- 
lutions, a  new  and  grander  exhibition  of  the  excellence 
of  religion,  and  the  power  of  the  church.  By  the  depth 
of  your  own  convictions,  and  the  intensity  of  your  own 
hopes,  that  all  now  going  on  is  but  a  preparatory  pro- 
cess to  usher  in  an  evangelical  era  of  European  history, 
labor  to  communicate  this  idea,  and  to  awaken  this  ex- 
pectation in  the  public  mind.     Endeavor  to  make  all  men 


TO    EARNESTNESS.  237 

feel,  that  for  the  world's  happiness,  there  is  something 
better  than  even  liberty  to  be  obtained,  and  without 
which,  freedom  itself  cannot  be  fully  enjoyed,  nor  per- 
manently  secured.  Let  the  church  be  seen  as  a  light- 
house to  guide  the  nations  of  the  earth  into  the  haven  of 
safety  and  peace. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

EXAMPLES    OF    EARNESTNESS. 

Earnestness  means  intensity  of  feeling  leading  on  to 
vigorous  and  determined  action  ;  and  what  is  so  likely  to 
produce  this  as  example  1  Principles  instruct  us  —  pre- 
cepts guide  us  —  but  example  moves  us.  Example  is 
principle  and  precept  embodied,  living,  and  in  action. 
We  see  not  only  what  is  done,  and  what  ought  to  be 
done,  but  what  can  be  done,  and  how  it  is  done.  It 
appeals  to  all  our  faculties  at  once  ;  it  fixes  the  attention 
—  engages  the  imagination  —  instructs  the  judgment  — 
moves  the  heart  —  subdues  the  will  —  awakens  the  con- 
science —  and  assists  the  memory.  Its  motive  power  is 
astonishing.  Let  us,  therefore,  look  at  the  examples  of 
earnestness  for  the  people,  as  in  a  former  volume  we  have 
selected  some  for  the  ministry. 

Were  it  not  undesirable  to  swell  out  this  volume  to  an 
undue  extent,  it  would  be  well  to  bring  forward  some 
examples  of  earnestness  in  the  cause  of  evil,  that  Chris- 
tians, by  this  means,  might  be  stirred  up  to  more  fiiU 
devotedness  in  the  service  of  God.  What  intense  activ- 
ity has  ever  been  exhibited  by  the  worshippers  of  idols,  as 
proved  by  the  facts  of  history  and  the  records  of  Scripture 
Isaiah  xliv.;  Jeremiah  vii.  17  ;  1.38.  Are  Mahometans 
usually  lacking  in  zeal  for  their  religion,  or  lukewarm  in 
professing  or  diffusing  it  1  What  shall  we  say  of  Popery, 
which  has  breathed  such  an  inspiration  into  its  votaries 
that  every  man  becomes  a  zealot  as  soon  as  he  is  a  papist  ? 
20* 


238  '  EXAMPLES    OF 

How  is  it,  then,  that  these  votaries  of  a  false  religion  are 
more  in  earnest  than  so  many  of  the  followers  of  the 
true  one? 

If  we  look  at  the  followers  after  wealth,  science,  fame, 
how  much  do  we  see  that  confirms  the  truth  of  our  Lord's 
words,  "  The  children  of  this  world  are  wiser  in  their 
generation  than  the  children  of  light." 

Happily,  however,  for  the  honor  of  a  pure  Christianity, 
we  may  see  among  its  professors  instances  of  devotedness, 
not  to  be  surpassed  in  any  other  classes  or  communities 
on  the  face  of  the  earth.  If  we  turn  to  the  scenes  which 
followed  the  day  of  Pentecost,  as  described  by  the  histo- 
rian of  "  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles,"  chap.  ii.  41,  49, 
we  shall  find  something  more  lovely  than  was  ever  exhib- 
ited in  our  world.  Then  let  us  think  of  the  martyr-age, 
when  the  Christians  went  in  crowds  to  the  scaffold,  the 
stake,  and  the  lions  of  the  amphitheatre.  Following 
on  the  bloody  track  of  persecution,  we  may  turn  our  eyes 
to  the  Alpine  heights  of  Piedmont,  whither  the  Walden- 
ses  retreated  from  the  fury  of  the  Papal  Beast.  Or  if  in 
modern  times  we  would  look  for  instances  of  earnestness, 
we  may  find  them  in  the  zeal  of  "  The  United  Brethren," 
or  Moravians,  as  they  are  called,  who,  when  their  whole 
society  amounted  only  to  six  hundred  poor,  despised 
exiles,  sent  out  missions,  in  the  short  space  of  nine 
years,  to  Greenland,  St.  Thomas',  St.  Croix,  Surinam, 
the  Rio  de  Berbice,  the  Indians  of  North  America,  the 
Negroes  of  South  Carolina,  Lapland,  Tartary,  Algiers, 
Guinea,  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  the  Island  of 
Ceylon. 

But  as  individual  instances  will  have  more  power  than 
a  reference  to  collective  bodies,  we  will  now  look  at  some 
of  these.  Have  we  forgotten  John  Howard,  the  philan- 
thropist, who,  under  the  influence  of  Christian  philan- 
thropy —  for  he  loas  a  Christian  in  the  spiritual  sense  of 
the  term  —  left  his  elegant  retreat  in  Bedfordshire,  to 
traverse  the  length  and  breadth  of  Europe,  and  spend  his 
life  in  "  diving  into  the  depths  of  dungeons,  and  plunging 
into  the  infection  of  hospitals,  to  survey  the  mansions  of 
sorrow  and  pain,  and  to  take  the  gauge  of  misery,  depres- 
sion, and  contempt ;  to  remember  the  forgotten,  to  attend 


EARNESTNESS. 


239 


to  the  neglected,  to  visit  the  forsaken,  and  to  collate  and 
compare  the  distresses  of  men  of  all  ages." 

But  perhaps  examples  bearing  more  directly  upon 
efforts  for  the  spread  of  religion  will  be  thought  most 
appropriate,  and  I  proceed,  therefore,  to  exhibit  some  few 
of  these. 

I  hold  up,  then,  for  the  imitation  of  men  of  wealth,  two 
individuals,  worthy  to  be  associated  on  the  same  page, 
and  deserving  of  everlasting  remembrance  by  the  churcli 
of  God.  The  first  is  the  eminent  John  Tkornton,  Esq., 
of  Clapham,  a  name  never  to  be  mentioned,  but  with  rev- 
erent affection.  This  gentlenjan  was  a  London  merchant 
and  who  by  the  high  moral  principle  wliich  guided  all  his 
secular  pursuits,  and  the  munificent  distribution  of  his 
large  profits,  was  one  of  those  who  inscribe  upon  their 
merchandise,  "  Holiness  to  the  Lord."  He  was,  by 
profession,  a  member  of  the  Church  of  England  ;  but 
neither  his  piety,  nor  his  charity,  nor  his  liberality,  could 
be  bound  up  within  the  limits  of  any  one  section  of  the 
Christian  church.  His  heart  was  too  large  to  be  con- 
fined with  any  amplitude  of  narrower  dimensions  than 
the  universal  church.  So  that  the  cause  of  evangelical 
religion  could  be  promoted,  he  scarcely  asked  the  question 
whether  it  was  done  by  churchman  or  dissenter  ;  his  heart, 
his  lip,  his  purse,  were  opened  to  all  ahke.  Aware  that 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel  is  God's  great  instrument  for 
the  conversion  of  sinners,  he  Was  zealous  for  the  educa- 
tion of  pious  young  men  for  the  work  of  the  Christian  min- 
istry, and  from  his  own  purse  was  maiidy  instrumental 
in  establishing,  and  for  a  while  supporting,  the  Dissent- 
ing Academy  at  Newport  Pagnell,  then  under  the  care  of 
the  Rev.  T.  Bull.  What  a  noble  effort  of  piety  ind 
charity  for  a  churchman !  In  this  labor  of  love  he  was 
assisted  by  his  friend,  the  Rev.  John  Newton,  of  St. 
Mary,  Woolnoth.  In  pursuance  of  the  same  object,  he 
purchased  church  livings,  to  bestow  them  upon  men  who 
preached  the  pure  gospel  ;  and  was  ever  ready  to  con- 
tribute large  sums,  or  smaller,  as  the  case  might  require,- 
for  the  erection  or  enlargement  of  churches  in  the  estab- 
lishment, or  chapels  among  dissenters.  He  scarcely  ever 
turned  away  a  well  accredited  case.     Often  while  he  was 


240  EXAMPLES    OF 

transacting  business  with  captains  or  with  merchants,  in 
his  own  counting-house,  appHcants  for  his  bounty  would 
be  waiting  for  their  turn  of  audience  in  the  outer  one ; 
and  the  latter  were  made  as  welcome  to  take  away  his 
wealth,  as  the  former  vere  to  bring  it  in,  and  would  be 
received  with  a  smile  as  cordial.  In  his  ships  large  num- 
bers of  Bibles  and  good  books  were  often  sent  with  hi? 
merchandise  to  the  distant  nations  of  the  earth. 

In  subserviency  to  religion,  and  from  the  most  enlarged 
and  expanded  philanthropy,  Mr.  Thornton  Uberally  pat- 
ronized every  undertaking  which  was  intended  to  reheve 
the  distress,  or  increase  the  comfort,  of  the  human 
species ;  so  that  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  mention 
one  private  or  public  charity  of  his  day,  to  which  he  was 
not  a  benefactor.  To  support  such  numerous  and  expeii- 
sive  designs  of  usefulness,  without  embarrassing  his  af- 
fairs, or  interfering  with  the  real  interests  of  his  family, 
he  avoided  all  extravagance  in  his  domestic  establish- 
ments, and  acted  upon  the  principle  that  frugality  is  the 
best  purveyor  for  liberality.  He  spent  little  upon  himself, 
in  order  that  he  might  have  the  more  to  spend  for  God 
and  his  fellow-creatures.  Nor  was  it  only  his  wealth 
that  he  thus  devoted,  though  the  sums  he  spent  must 
have  been  immense,  but  he  gave  also  his  time  and  his 
labor.  He  lived  to  do  good  ;  he  pursued  it  as  a  business, 
and  he  enjoyed  it  as  a  pleasure.  He  was  as  earnest  in 
giving,  as  most  men  are  in  getting.  Such  was  the  good, 
the  eminent  John  Thornton,  the  Christian  philanthropist 
of  Clapham. 

Thomas  Wilson,  Esq.,*  of  Highbury,  whose  memory 
will  ever  be'fondly  cherished,  as  long  as  liberality  in  the 
cause  of  God  shall  be  esteemed  a  virtue,  set  out  in  life 
as  a  Christian  tradesman.  He  was  partner  in  a  respecta- 
ble and  lucrative  establishment  in  the  silk  line,  in  London. 
This,  when  bright  prospects  of  worldly  advantage  were 

*This  eminent  individual,  and  also  Lady  Huntingdon,  were 
mentioned  in  "The  Earnest  Ministry;"  hut  they  are  brought 
forward  here,  and  at  greater  length,  as  belonging  more  to  this 
volume  than  to  that ;  and  had  the  present  w  jrk  been  contem- 
t)lated  when  the  former  one  was  written,  they  would  have  been 
eseived  for  this  occasion. 


EARNESTNESS.  241 

opening  before  him,  he  quitted  early  in  manhood,  to 
devote  himself  wholly  to  the  cause  of  God,  and  the  spir- 
itual welfare  of  his  fellow-creatures.  It  may  be  justly 
questioned,  whether  it  would  not  be  better,  in  most  cases, 
for  pious  and  wealthy  tradesmen  to  remain,  like  Mr. 
Thornton,  in  business,  and  consecrate  their  profits  to 
Christ,  than  retire  from  it.  This  would  augment  their 
means  of  usefulness  by  the  acquisition  of  greater  wealth, 
and  by  the  influence  they  exert  over  other  men  engaged 
in  trade.  Occasionally,  however,  it  is  well  for  an  individ- 
ual, as  in  the  present  case,  to  give  up  altogether  secular 
pursuits,  and  yield  himself,  as  well  as  his  property,  to 
God.  The  time  and  attention  of  one  such  man,  as  well 
as  the  property  of  many  other  men  combined,  is  needed 
for  the  benefit  of  our  institutions.  Mr.  Wilson's  excel- 
lent father  had  been  treasurer  of  the  Dissenting  College 
at  Hoxton,  for  the  education  of  ministers,  which  has  been 
since  removed  to  Highbury.  To  that  office  he  succeeded 
at  the  death  of  his  father,  and  in  which  he  has  been  fol- 
lowed by  his  son,  Joshua  Wilson,  Esq.  From  the  time 
of  his  official  connection  with  this  important  institution, 
he  became,  in  the  best  sense  of  the  term,  a  public  man. 
To  his  patrimonial  inheritance,  which  was  handsome, 
though  not,  in  the  widest  meaning  of  the  expression, 
affluent,  he  had  a  large  accession  by  the  death  of  a 
maternal  uncle  ;  which  affi)rded  him  an  opportunity,  had 
he  chosen  to  embrace  it,  to  add  much  to  the  splendor  of 
his  style  of  living.  He  preferred  rather  to  consider  it  as 
furnishing  him  with  fresh  means  for  glorifying  God,  in 
promoting  his  cause. 

Mr.  Wilson  was  one  of  the  fathers  and  founders  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society,  and  at  the  time  of  his  decease 
was  its  treasurer.  He  was  a  liberal  patron  of  all  the 
religious  societies  of  the  day.  But  the  object  of  his  chief 
attention,  care,  and  solicitude,  was  the  college  ;  and  in 
the  cause  of  this,  and  what  stood  connected  with  it,  he 
embarked  his  time,  his  influence,  his  bodily  labor,  and  to 
a  considerable  extent,  his  fortune.  To  fill  the  college 
with  students  —  to  help  to  support  many  of  them  during 
their  academic  course  —  to  provide  chi  irches  for  them  to 
settle  wdth  —  and,  where  necessary,  to  build  chapels  foi 


^42  EXAMPLES   OF 

them  to  preach  in,  formed  the  noble  object  of  his  exist- 
ence. To  carry  out  this  end,  he  had  his  office,  his  clerk, 
and  his  correspondence  ;  to  which  he  devoted  himself 
with  the  same  assiduity  as  did  the  merchants  around  to 
their  commerce  and  their  gains.  In  one  sense,  his  office 
yielded  the  advantage  of  a  registration  for  ministers  that 
wanted  churches,  and  churches  that  wanted  pastors  ;  and 
his  private  residence,  also,  was  ever  accessible  to  all  who 
had  any  communication  to  make,  or  wished  his  counsel. 
What  multitudes  have  been  his  guests,  and  have  shared 
his  unostentatious,  but  generous  hospitalities  ! 

Touched  with  the  destitution  of  the  metropolis,  as 
regards  adequate  evangelical  means  of  instruction,  he 
erected  at  his  own  risk,  and  mainly  at  his  own  cost,  four 
spacious  chapels  —  Hoxton,  Paddington,  Craven,  and 
Claremont.  Nor  was  his  munificence  confined  to  Lon- 
don, for  he  built  new  and  elegant  places  of  worship  at 
Ipswich,  Northampton,  Richmond,  Dover.  Besides  this, 
he  contributed  in  sums  from  five  hundred  pounds  to  fifty, 
to  the  enlargement  and  erection  of  eighty  other  chapels, 
and  in  smaller  amounts  to  hundreds  more.  He  could 
have  spent  little  less  than  fifty  or  sixty  thousand  pounds 
in  the  service  of  his  Lord.  It  was  not,  however,  the 
amount  of  money  that  constituted  the  whole  of  his  ear- 
nestness, but  the  surrender  of  all  he  was,  and  all  he  had, 
to  the  work  of  God.  He  lived  for  these  two  objects  — 
to  educate  ministers,  and  to  build  chapels.  At  home  and 
abroad  —  by  correspondence  and  personal  inspection  — 
by  receiving  information  and  seeking  it,  he  was  ever 
laboring  to  carry  out  this  design.  Age  did  not  paralyze 
the  ardor  of  this  devoted  and  unwearied  man,  nor  dismiss 
him  from  his  beloved  employ.  When  too  feeble  to  go  to 
his  office  in  town,  its  business  was  brought  to  him  at  his 
own  habitation.  The  last  interview  I  had  with  him, 
which  was  not  long  before  his  decease,  when,  though 
attenuated  by  disease  and  suffering  from  pain,  his  coun- 
tenance brightened  up,  as  he  showed  me  a  letter  which 
he  had  just  received  from  a  minister  encouraging  his 
hopes  that  his  correspondent  would  settle  at  one  of  the 
chapels  he  had  erected  in  the  metropolis. 

On  reading  this  brief  account,  no  one  can  doubt,  much 


EARNESTNESS. 


243 


less  any  one  who  knew  the  subject  of  it,  that  Mr  Wilson 
was  a  fine  specimen  of  an  earnest  man.  Let  men  of 
fortune  contemplate  this  bright  example,  and  go  and  do 
likewise.  Let  them  here  learn  the  real  design  of  Prov- 
idence in  bestowing  wealth,  and  their  own  richest  enjoy- 
ment in  appropriating  it.  What  a  service  does  that  man 
render  to  the  cause  of  religion  through  all  time,  and  the 
souls  of  his  fellow-creatures  through  all  eternity,  who 
erects  only  one  place  of  worship,  or  educates  only  one 
minister  for  the  preaching  of  the  gospel ! 

Men  of  leisure  and  of  literature  will  find  an  admirable 
example  of  intense  activity  and  continued  labor,  in  the 
cause  of  public  usefulness,  in  the  late  George  Stokes, 
Esq.  This  gentleman  also  commenced  life  as  a  partner 
in  a  large  wholesale  silk  establishment.  He  had  received 
a  good  classical  education  at  Merchant  Tailor's  School  in 
London.  While  yet  comparatively  a  young  man,  and 
much  engaged  in  business,  he  connected  himself  with 
that  inestimably  valuable  institution,  the  Religious  Tract 
Society,  as  one  of  its  committee,  and  placed  no  divided 
heart  upon  its  altar.  In  addition  to  the  ordinary  duties 
of  a  committee-man,  -he  soon  brought  his  literary  taste 
and  acquirements  under  requisition,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Society,  and  wrote  several  tracts,  which  were  adopted, 
printed,  and  widely  circulated.  When  the  society  felt 
any  pressure  upon  its  finances,  Mr.  Stokes'  purse  was  as 
much  at  its  command  as  his  pen.  At  the  meetings  of 
the  committee,  he  was  always  present  when  not  prevented 
by  sickness  or  absence  from  home  ;  and  was  often  in  daily 
attendance  at  the  depository  for  a  long  time  together.  He 
wrote  several  of  the  annual  reports,  and  proceeded  vith 
ever  increasing  zeal  and  ingenuity  to  multiply  by  his  own 
pen  the  productions  issued  by  the  Society.  The  series 
of  hawker's  tracts,  and- children's  books,  the  Tract  Mag- 
azine, and  the  subsequent  issue  of  larger  works,  owed 
much  to  his  inventive  mind  and  ever  active  pen.  The 
stereotype  plates  for  some  of  the  earlier  issues  of  religious 
books  cost  him  six  hundred  pounds.  In  all  his  labors  he 
was  most  ably  assisted  by  his  invaluable  friend,  and  the 
Society's  incomparable  agent,  Mr.  William  Lloyd.  His 
greatest  work  was  his  preparation  of  the  Society's  Com* 


244 


EXAMPLES    OF 


mentary  upon  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament.  In  the  accomplishment  of  this  he  employed 
five  years,  and  was  often  engaged  eight  hours  a  day  upon 
it.  It  is  needless  to  say  he  had  long  since  resigned  the 
active  duties  Of  worldly  business,  to  devote  himself  to  his 
gratuitous,  extensive,  and  unwearied  labors,  in  the  cause 
of  the  Rehgious  Tract  Society.  Mr.  Stokes  died  at 
Cheltenham,  on  the  31st  of  May,  in  his  fifty-eighth  year  ; 
soon  after  which  a  resolution  of  sympathy  with  his  fam- 
ily, of  gratitude  to  God,  and  admiration  of  his  hfe  and 
labors,  was  passed  by  the  Society,  of  which  the  follow- 
ing is  an  extract :  "  The  committee  now  feel  it  their  duty 
to  record  upon  their  minutes  the  interesting  fact,  that  Mr. 
Stokes  prepared  for  the  Society  about  two  hundred  sep- 
arate tracts,  translations,  juvenile  and  other  larger  vol- 
umes ;  including,  '  The  Commentary  on  the  Holy  Bible  ;* 
'  The  Writings  and  Lives  of  the  British  Reformers ; ' 
'The  English  History;'  and  various  works  on  'The 
Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Jews  ;'  and  that  in  addition 
to  all  these  important  publications,  he  zealously  and  dis- 
interestedly discharged,  for  twenty-two  years,  the  duties 
of  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Tract  Magazine  and  the 
Child's  Companion." 

Of  these  various  publications  nearly  fourteen  million 
copies  have  been  issued  by  the  Society,  Well  mig-ht  Mr. 
Jones,  the  admirable  travelling  agent  of  the  Society,  in 
his  "  Recollections  of  the  late  George  Stokes,  Esq.," 
remark,  we  learn  here  ^^  the  power  of  a  single  individual 
to  do  much  good.  Mr.  Stokes  was  a  man  of  useful, 
rather  than  of  splendid,  talents.  He  was  not  a  literary 
miser.  He  collected  knowledge  that  he  might  freely 
impart  it.  His  light  was  not  put  under  a  bushel,  but 
was  seen  of  men,  and  gave  light  to  those  around.  He 
lived  not  to  himself.  Without  being  fully  conscious  of 
it,  he  so  shone  before  men,  through  his  numerous  and 
useful  works,  that  many  were  led  to  glorify  his  heavenly 
Father." 

I  now  bring  forward  two  instances  from  humble  life, 
for  the  instruction  and  encouragement  of  those  in  a  simi- 
lar situation.  The  first  is  Thomas  Cranfield,  of  whom 
an  interesting  memoir  has  been  published  by  the  Re- 


EARNESTNESS.  245 

ligious  Tract  Society,  under  the  title  of  "The  Useful 
Christian."  Thomas  Cranfield  was  the  son  of  a  journey- 
man baker  in  South wark,  and  as  he  grew  up  to  youth, 
became  a  wicked,  cruel  and  brutish  lad.  He  absconded 
from  his  master,  enlisted  into  the  army,  and  was  at  the 
siege  of  Gibraltar.  He  was  a  brave  soldier,  and  reckless 
of  danger,  but  a  slave  of  sin  and  Satan.  On  his  return 
to  England,  he  was  taken  to  hear  Mr.  Romaine  preach 
at  Blackfriars.  His  hard  heart  was  broken  down  by  the 
hammer  of  the  Word,  and  his  pious  parents  soon  had  the 
ineffable  felicity  to  see  their  soldier-son  enter,  heart  and 
soul,  into  tiie  service  of  the  Captain  of  our  salvation. 
Having  found  joy  and  peace  in  believing,  he  became  in- 
tensely anxious  and  active  for  the  salvation  of  others. 
His  first  solicitude  was  for  his  wife,  who  soon  became  a 
fellow-heir  with  him  of  the  grace  of  life.  He  then 
sought  the  conversion  of  her  relatives,  as  his  own  were 
already  Christians.  The  next  objects  of  his  pious  zeal 
were  the  lodgers  in  the  house  where  he  resided,  two  of 
whom  became,  by  their  conversion,  the  fruits  of  his 
labors.  Soon  after  he  acted  as  clerk  to  an  out-of-door 
preacher,  who  proclaimed  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  to 
the  multitude  in  Moorfields.  Then  he  joined  in  setting 
up  a  prayer-meeting  among  the  brick-makers  at  Kings- 
land.  At  length,  panting  for  a  regular  means  of  doing 
good,  rather  than  these  casual  efforts,  he  opened  a  Sun- 
day school  at  Rotherhithe,  where  he  had  witnessed  some 
awful  scenes  of  juvenile  depravity.  Finding,  at  length, 
some  one  to  conduct  this  institution,  he  directed  his  views 
to  Tottenham,  and  opened  another  there.  Founding  and 
conducting  Sunday  schools  now  became  his  vocation,  to 
which  he  surrendered  himself  with  all  the  ardor  with 
which  he  had  fought  his  country's  battles  on  the  heights 
of  Gibraltar.  School  after  school  was  opened  by  him  in 
many  of  the  darkest  and  rudest  places  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  metropolis,  of  which  he  was  the  teacher,  the 
superintendent,  and  the  purveyor,  finding  friends  to  assis* 
with  their  money,  and  teachers  by  their  labors.  To  the 
duties  of  a  superintendent  of  Sunday  schools,  he  added 
those  of  a  visitor  of  the  sick,  tjli  Thomas  Crar.field 
21 


246  EXAMPLES    OF 

became  known  as  a  friend  of  the  young,  the  sick,  and  the 
poor,  through  whole  neighborhoods.  What  he  wanted 
in  order  and  method,  he  made  up  in  zeal  and  persever- 
ance. Individual,  as  well  as  general,  in  his  attentions, 
he  visited  the  children  at  their  homes,  and  wrote  letters 
enough  to  them  to  make  a  volume.  He  looked  after 
them  when  they  had  left  the  school,  followed  them  to 
their  domiciles,  or  assembled  them  at  a  meeting  of  "  old 
scholars."  At  one  of  these  gatherings,  amounting  lo 
about  sixty,  it  was  ascertained  that  fourteen  of  those 
present  were  members  of  churches,  and  that  there  was 
scarcely  one  who  did  not  attend  a  place  of  worship.  The 
lodging-houses,  those  dark  domains  of  Satan,  where  filth, 
and  ignorance,  and  vice,  seem  all  condensed  together, 
into  their  narrowest  dimensions,  did  not  escape  his 
notice,  or  daunt  his  courage,  and  he  rendered  many  of 
them  accessible  to  the  light  of  truth,  and  the  glad  tidings 
of  salvation.  Thus  lived  and  labored  Thomas  Cranfield. 
Time  blunted  not  his  religious  sensibilities,  and  he  bore 
fruit  to  old  age  —  at  fourscore  he  was  still  lively  in  de- 
sire, though  feeble  in  action,  in  the  cause  of  his  Master. 
Half  a  century  he  had  labored  as  a  devoted  Sunday 
school  teacher,  and  tired  not  to  the  last.  This  once 
profligate  youth,  and  brave  but  wicked  soldier,  when  he 
died,  was  honored  with  funeral  obsequies,  which  the 
hero  under  whom  he  served  at  Gibraltar  might  have 
coveted  in  vain  to  enjoy.  O,  for  more  Thomas  Cran- 
field s  !* 

Harlan  Page  is  more  than  worthy  to  be  associated  in 
these  biographical  etchings,  with  the  last  mentioned  indi- 
vidual, for  though  not  superior  in  piety  and  devotedness 
to  Thomas  Cranfield,  he  was  before  him,  both  in  talent 
and  in  usefulness.  Harlan  Page  was  a  native  of  Connect- 
icut, in  the  United  States.  His  father  was  a  house- 
joiner,  to  which  trade  he  also  was  brought  up.  He  was 
converted  to  God  when  about  twenty-two  years  of  age. 
"  When  I  first  obtained  a  hope,"  he  said  on  his  dying 
bed,  "  I  felt  that  I  must  labor  for  souls.  I  prayed  year 
after  year  that  God  would  make  me  the  means  of  saving 

*  "  The  Useful  Christian,"  by  the  Tract  Society.    Is. 


EARNESTNESS.  247 

souls."  His  prayer  was  soon  answered;  for  who  ever 
presented  such  a  prayer,  and  followed  it  up  with  appro- 
priate and  diligent  exertions,  that  had  not  his  des-ires 
gratified?  Three  days  after  he  pul  icly  professed  his 
faith  in  Christ,  he  began  his  useful  career  by  addressing 
a  letter  to  one  who  had  been  long  resisting  conviction 
and  hardening  his  heart.  Letter- writing  now  became 
nis  chosen  means  of  doing  good  ;  and  this  instrumentality 
he  scarcely  ceased,  for  a  single  day,  to  employ.  He  ad- 
dressed himself  to  relations  and  strangers  —  to  friends 
and  foes  —  to  the  rich  and  the  poor — to  saints  and  sin- 
ners —  to  persons  in  all  states  and  stages  of  religious 
experience  —  and  to  the  young  and  old  —  with  a  dili- 
gence that  is  surprising.  No  lover  of  wealth  or  literature 
was  ever  more  assiduous  in  correspondence  than  was  this 
pious  carpenter.  When  lying  on  a  sick  bed,  he  would 
employ  himself  in  thinking  in  what  new  ways  he  could 
be  useful ;  and  when  recovered,  it  was  his  first  solicitude 
to  put  his  plans  and  purposes  into  execution.  His  next 
means  of  saving  souls  was  the  printing  and  circulating 
of  small  cards,  with  a  short  and  impressive  address,  com- 
posed by  himself,  on  some  of  the  momentous  truths  of 
revelation.  The  distribution  of  tracts  was  added  to  the 
circulation  of  cards.  His  object  then  was  to  promote 
prayer-meetings  and  revivals  of  religion  among  his  fellow- 
members.  On  one  occasion  he  had  entered  in  his  private 
memoranda  short  notices  of  seventy-nine  individuals 
under  concern,  among  whom  he  was  ever  active  in  pro- 
moting their  spiritual  welfare.  His  pen  was  as  busy  as 
his  tongue,  and  he  was  always  preparing  addresses  for 
publication  in  some  of  the  religious  periodicals;  and 
^vhich  were  full  of  point,  pathos,  and  unction.  "  While 
working  at  three  shillings  a  day,  here  was  a  mechanic 
performing  his  daily  task  on  hire,  establishing  and  sus- 
taining a  religious  meeting  at  the  boarding-house,  on 
Wednesday  evenings ;  a  meeting  of  the  people  of  God, 
for  prayer,  on  Sabbath  mornings,  at  sun-rise  ;  and  though 
he  went  three  miles  to  attend  public  worship,  throwing 
his  efforts  into  a  Sabbath  school  at  five,  p  m.  ;  devoting 
Sabbath  evenings  to  meetings  and  family  nsitation  ;  con- 
versing with  the  sick,  the  careless,  the  anxious  ;   dis- 


248  EXAMPLES    OF 

tributing  tracts  ;  endeavoring  to  awaken  an  interest  in  the 
religious  operations  of  the  day ;  keeping  a  brief  diary  ; 
abounding  in  prayer ;  and  adopting,  with  others,  an  in- 
cipient measure  for  the  formation  of  a  churcli  and  the 
settlement  of  a  pastor." 

At  length,  Harlan  Page  was  appointed  Agent  of  the 
General  Depository  of  the  American  Tract  Society, 
which  opened  to  him  a  new  sphere  of  activity  and  useful- 
ness, and  which  he  filled  with  his  accustomed  energy. 
He  assembled,  from  time  to  time,  all  the  tract  distribu- 
tors, companies  of  Sunday  school  teachers,  and  others,  to 
instruct  them,  as  a  kind  of  drill  sergeant  in  the  army  of 
the  Captain  of  Salvation,  in  their  several  duties.  The 
great  temperance  movement  received  his- hearty  coopera- 
tion. During  all  these  labors  for  others,  he  was  no  less 
assiduous  for  his  own  family,  and  had  the  joy  of  seeing 
his  children  walking  in  the  truth.  It  may  be  truly  said 
he  was  animated  by  as  much  as  is  ever  found  in  imperfect 
humanity,  of  the  passion  for  saving  souls ;  and  for  this 
he  would  have  been  willing  to  become  a  martyr. 

Yea,  in  some  sense  he  w^as  a  martyr,  for  his  constant 
labors  w^ore  out  a  frame,  never  robust  ;  and  after  having 
saved  by  his  varied  instrumentality  more  souls  than  most 
of  those  who  bear  the  ministerial  office,  he  died,  at  the 
comparatively  early  age  of  forty-two  ;  and  has  left  an 
example  of  earnestness  in  doing  good,  which  were  the 
church  of  Christ  disposed  to  imitate,  our  world  would 
soon  be  rescued  from  the  dominion  of  sin  and  Satan,  and 
recovered  to  its  rightful  owner,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Lei  us  hear  this  dying  saint  say,  "I  know  it  is  all  "of 
God's  grace,  and  nothing  that  I  have  done  ;  but  I  think 
that  I  have  had  evidejice  that  more  than  one  hundred  souls 
have  been  converted  to  God  through  my  own  direct  and 
personal  instrumentality  ;^^  — and  having  heard  it,  let  us 
consider  what  one  man  in  humble  life,  with  by  no  means 
a  strong  bodily  frame,  but  with  a  heart  burning  with  an 
ardent  desire  to  be  useful  to  men's  souls,  can  do,  when  he 
is  given  up  to  this  blessed  and  sublime  occupation.  Sup- 
pose every  Christian  congregation  were  blessed  with  ten 
such  individuals,  yea  five,  yea  one,  what  a  shovi^er  of 
blessi/  ig?  might  be  expected  to  fall  upon  the  neighborhood 


EARNESTNESS.  249 

in  which  they  live !  Here  is  earnestness  indeed.  It 
would  not  be  easy  to  think  of  a  means  more  likely  to 
rouse  Christians  to  a  sense  of  *heir  capacity  and  obhga- 
tions  for  doing  good,  than  •She  ^^erusal  of  the  cheap  me- 
moirs of  this  wonderful  man,  which  also  has  been  re- 
published in  this  country  by  the  Religious  Tract  Society. 

We  will  now  contemplate  two  or  three  examples  of 
female  earnestness,  which  are  selected  for  that  sex  which 
has  ever  distinguished  itself  for  zeal  in  every  good  cause, 
and  especially  in  that  of  religion.  In  the  time  of  the 
Saviour  they  were  his  most  constant  and  devoted  follow- 
ers, were  last  at  the  cross,  and  first  at  the  sepulchre  ;  and 
since  then,  have  in  every  age  shown  the  ardor  of  their 
love  by  distinguished  services. 

The  first  instance  is  selected  from  the  peerage,  and  is 
the  well  known  Selina,  Countess  of  Huntingdon. 
This  extraordinary  woman  was  from  a  child  of  a  grave 
and  serious  disposition,  and  maintained,  amidst  all  the  ele- 
gance and  gayety  of  Donnington  Park,  a  devout  turn  of 
mind.  She  was,  however,  for  a  long  time  laboring  hard 
to  establish  her  own  righteousness ;  till  by  conversation 
with  Lady  Margaret  Hastings,  a  near  relative  on  her 
husband's  side,  she  received  the  knowledge  of  justifica- 
tion by  faith.  Whitfield  and  Wesley  were  then  in  the 
midst  of  their  labors,  and  the  zenith  of  their  popularity 
and  usefulness.  Lord  and  Lady  Huntingdon  immediately 
patronized  the  new  doctrine,  and  were  the  followers  of 
Whitfield  wherever  he  preached.  Connected  by  her 
rank  with  nobility,  and  by  her  habits  with  literary  men, 
wits,  poets,  and  statesmen,  what  decision,  fortitude,  and 
even  heroism,  it  required,  not  stealthily  and  by  night,  but 
boldly  in  the  face  of  day,  to  connect- herself  with  the  sect 
everywhere  spoken  ill  of,  and  ridiculed  as  a  band  of  ig- 
norant fanatics  !  Such  qualities  were  possessed  by  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  She  became  to  a  certain  extent 
the  patroness  of  the  despised  preacher  at  "  the  Foundry." 
Her  saloon  was  thrown  open  to  h;s  preaching,  where 
Lord  Chesterfield,  the  high  priest  of  the  god  of  fashion, 
Lord  Bolingbroke,  and  many  other  peers  and  peeresses, 
would  not  unfreqaentlv  be  found,  at  her  ladyship's  solici- 
21*       '  ' 


250  EXAMPLES    OF 

tation,  listening  to  Whitfield,  now  appointed  to  be  her 
chaplain  It  was  while  this  great  man  was  on  a  visit  to 
Lady  Huntingdon's  seat,  at  Ashby-de-la-Zouch,  that  the 
Tabernacle,  in  London,  was  planned,  and  chiefly  at  her 
instigation  By  this  time,  her  fortune,  never  very  large, 
and  her  influence,  which  was  much  greater,  were  both 
put  in  requisition  to  meet  the  expense  of  the  erection  of 
the  Tabernacle,  Tottenham  Court  chapel,  and  other 
places  of  worship.  Mr.  Berridge,  of  Everton,  Mr. 
Rowland  Hill,  Mr.  Matthew  Wilks,  and  all  others  of 
their  style  of  preaching,  whether  in  or  out  of  the  Church 
of  England,  became  her  proteges.  She  was  still  profess- 
edly a  member  of  that  communion,  but  loved  the  gospel, 
and  all  who  preached  it,  infinitely  more  than  she  did  the 
church.  Lay  preaching,  and  out  of  door  preaching, 
met  with  her  entire  concurrence  and  liberal  support. 
Chapels  now  were  engaged  by  her  wherever  she  could 
obtain  them,  to  the  full  extent  of  her  means  ;  and  it  was 
her  special  delight  to  buy  theatres,  when  they  were  to  be 
obtained,  and  so  turn  those  places  into  houses  for  saving 
souls,  which  had  been  formerly  employed  for  destroying 
them.  Wherever  a  revival  of  religion  took  place,  in  the 
establishment,  or  in  any  other  denomination,  her  influence 
was  sure  to  be  engaged. 

•  After  studding  the  land  with  chapels,  and  supplying 
them  with  ministers,  supporting  them,  in  many  cases, 
from  her  own  purse,  she  aimed  at  nobler  game,  and  es- 
tablished a  college,  at  Trevecca,  in  South  Wales,  for  the 
education  of  ministers  ;  and  I  have  lying  before  me,  at  this 
moment,  a  hst  of  the  names  of  ministers,  and  many  of 
them  of  considerable  celebrity,  amounting  to  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five,  who  were  educated  in  this  semi- 
nary. When  the  lease  of  the  premises  at  Trevecca 
'expired,  the  college  was  removed  to  Cheshunt,  Herts, 
where  it  now  continues,  under  the  able  presidency  of  Dr. 
Harris  ;  and  already  have  nearly  two  hundred  ministers 
been  educated  for  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  in  that 
seat  of  holy  and  general  literature.  A  religious  connec- 
tion was  formed  which  bore,  and  which  still  b(>-ars,  the 
name  of  this  distinguished  lady.  Her  personal  exertions 
in  -ihese  works  of  faith,  and  labors  of  love,  were  un- 


EARNESTNESS.  251 

wounded.  She  lived  for  nothing-  else.  Rank,  and  for- 
tune, and  influence,  were  valuable  in  her  eyes,  only  as 
they  enabled  her  to  glorify  God,  advance  the  kingdom 
of  Christ,  and  save  immortal  souls.  All  she  possessed, 
she  consecrated  to  the  Redeemer  of  the  world,  and  his 
cause  on  earth.  She  kept  no  state,  she  incurred  no  ex- 
pense, in  order  that  she  might  give  all  to  the  Saviour. 
She  was  often  involved  in  considerable  difficulties  for 
want  of  sioney,  not,  like  many  of  the  nobility,  to  meet  her 
debts  for  gambling  or  extravagance,  but  for  buying  or 
erecting  chapels.  Having  determined  to  erect  a  place  of 
worship  at  Brighton,,  and  being  at  the  time  rather  strait- 
ened for  money,  she  came  to  the  noble  resolution  of  sell- 
ing her  jewels,  and  with  the  produce,  amounting  to 
nearly  seven  hundred  pounds,  she  built  the  chapel  in 
North  Street,  in  that  town,  now  occupied  by  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Sortain.  This  was  one  of  the  most  interesting 
sacrifices  of  vanity  ever  made  at  the  shrine  of  religion. 
How  truly  may  it  be  said  of  that  place  of  Christian 
worship,  with  an  alteration  of  the  future  into  the  past 
time,  "I  have  laid  thy  stones  with  fair  colors,  and  thy 
foundations  with  sapphires,  and  I  will  make  thy  windows 
of  agates,  and  thy  gates  of  carbuncles,  and  all  thy  borders 
of  pleasant  stones." 

Such  was  Lady  Huntingdon.  How  correctly  has  it 
been  said  by  her  biographer,  "  The  value  of  such  a  life 
can  never  be  ascertained,  till  the  heavens  and  the  earth 
be  no  more ;  and  when  temporal  happiness  and  misery 
shall  have  vanished  like  the  illusion  of  a  dream,  thou- 
sands, and  tens  of  thousands,  will  be  thankful  that  she 
lived  so  long,  the  faithful  servant  of  God,  and  the  happy 
instrument  of  their  conversion." 

Here  was  earnestness  indeed  ! 

But  few  have  such  opportunities  for  service  in  the 
cause  of  Christ  as  this  illustrious  woman,  and  we  there- 
fore descend  to  others  nearer  the  ordinary  level  of  human 
life.  From  these  we  select  that  noble-minded  woman, 
Mrs.  Fry.  This  lady,  as  is  well  known,  was  a  member 
of  the  Society  of  Friends,  or  Quakers,  as  they  are  com- 
monly called.  After  spending  her  youth  in  worldliness, 
vanity,  and  with  an  inclinaticv:  to  scepticism,  yet  still 


EXAMPLES    OF 

amidst  many  struggles  with  a  eonscier  ,e  which  urged 
her  to  higher  pursuits,  she  was  converted  to  God  by  the 
preaching  and  conversation  of  William  Savory,  an  Amer- 
ican Quaker  minister,  who  visited  this  land  on  a  religious 
mission.  Little  did  this  holy  and  self-denying  servant  of 
the  Lord  imagine,  when  he  set  his  foot  on  the  shores  of 
Britain,  what  a  convert  he  was  about  to  win  to  the  cross 
of  his  Master.  Had  he  lived  only  for  that  one  object,  his 
existence  would  have  been  a  rich  blessing  to  our  world. 
Mrs.  Fry's  piety,  from  the  commencement  of  her  reli- 
gious life,  partook  of  the  ardor  of  her  natural  temperament. 
In  addition  to  the  contemplative  duties  of  religion,  she 
soon  added  the  assiduities  of  an  active  benevolence,  and 
when  surrounded  by  the  cares  of  married  life,  and  the 
anxieties  of  a  mother  with  an  increasing  family,  and  a 
feeble  constitution,  she,  notwithstanding,  devoted  much 
time  to  visiting  the  poor.  She  gre-w  in  grace  amidst  some 
bodily  suffering,  and  became  eminent  for  the  power  of  the 
hidden  life.  She  was  soon  appointed  visiter  of  the  school 
and  work-house  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  at  Islington, 
upon  the  duties  of  which,  notwithstanding  her  multiply- 
ing cares  at  home,  she  entered  with  alacrity,  humility, 
and  self-devotedness.  Her  active  mind  soon  after  this 
became  anxious  to  form  an  establishment  for  the  welfare 
of  female  servants.  That  mysterious,  interesting,  but 
degraded  race,  the  Gypsies,  did  not  escape  her  notice, 
and  she  visited  their  little  camp  as  often  as  it  was  pitched 
in  her  neighborhood  ;  relieving  their  wants,  reproving 
their  sins,  and  furnishing  such  as  could  read  with  books. 
After  speaking  occasionally  in  their  meetings,  the  Friends 
acknowleged  her  ministry  as  one  whom  the  Lord  had 
called.  Thirs  devolved  upon  her  new  duties  and  frequent 
journeys. 

At  length  the  attention  of  Mrs.  Fry  was  called  to  the 
female  prisoners  in  Newgate,  who  at  that  time  weie  in 
the  most  deplorable  condition,  both  physically  and  morally. 
Hundreds  of  these  wretched  beings  were  huddled  together, 
in  filth,  vice,  and  confusion ;  and  often  infuriated  to  mad- 
ness with  ardent  spirits,  which  were  then  allowed  to  be 
sold  in  the  prison,  till  the  place  resembled  a  pandemonium. 
She  was  now  the  mother  of  eiffht  children,  and  can  she 


EARNESTNESS.  253 

with  such  a  charge  find  leisme,  and  for  such  an  object 
find  courage,  to  venture  into  that  den  of  revolting  and 
outrageous  wickedness  ?  Or  could  she  hope  even  by  her 
calnn  and  gentle  presence  to  control  that  band  of  furies? 
Against  the  remonstrances  of  some,  the  fears  of  more, 
and  the  despondency  of  nearly  all  but  her  own  heaven- 
moved  mind,  this  angel  of  mercy  descended  into  that 
dark  domain  of  vice,  which  had  acquired  the  designation 
of"  hell  above  ground."  Her  presence  so  benign,  her 
voice  so  musical,  her  disposition  so  affectionate,  and  her 
whole  manner  so  gentle  and  yet  so  confiding,  awed  the 
rude  spirits  which  collected  around  her.  Such  a  form  of 
sanctity  and  mercy  had  never  before  been  seen  in  that 
abode  of  vice  and  misery  ;  and  an  immediate  impression 
in  her  favor  was  produced  upon  the  minds  of  the  female 
culprits  whom  she  had  gone  to  instruct.  At  her  instiga- 
tion, "  An  Association  for  the  Improvement  of  the 
Female  Prisoners  in  Newgate,"  was  formed,  of  which, 
of  course,  she  was  the  chief  agent.  Their  operations 
were  seconded  by  the  civic  authorities,  and  soon  evinced 
that  there  are  no  characters  so  desperate,  and  no  habits 
of  vice  so  inveterate,  which  may  not  be  expected  to  yield 
to  judicious,  gentle,  firm,  and  persevering  kindness. 
Mrs.  Fry's  unwearied  labors  continued,  and  with  them 
the  reformation  at  Newgate  advanced.  But  this  brought 
upon  her  an  extensive  correspondence,  and  much  addi- 
tional labor  of  other  kinds,  for  she  had  become  now  a 
female  heroine  whose  fame  had  gone  out  into  all  the 
earth ;  it  had  penetrated  mansions,  palaces,  and  the 
courts  of  justice  ;  and  drew  attention,  not  only  to  herself, 
but,  what  was  still  more  important,  to  the  subject  of  prison 
reform.  Her  visits  were  now  extended,  not  only  to 
almost  every  part  of  the  country,  but  also  to  the  channel 
islands.  After  this,  she  crossed  the  Atlantic,  and  visited 
America,  returning  home  through  France.  Scarcely 
was  she  quietly  and  safely  at  home,  before  another  jour- 
ney was  undertaken  to  the  continent,  when  she  traversed 
Germany,  Holland  and  Denmark.  Thus  did  this  won- 
derful woman  ever  go  about  doing  good.  No  distance, 
no  difficulties,  no  labors,  appalled  her,  in  her  efforts  to 
instruct  ignorance,  to  reform  vice,  and  to  alleviate  wre^^h- 


254  EXAMPLES    OF 

edness.  Advancing  years  chilled  not  her  ardor,  noi 
indiiced  her  to  seek  repose.  In  this  noble  career  she 
continued  till  the  Master  whom  she  so  much  loved,  and 
BO  well  served,  called  her  to  her  rest,  and  her  reward. 
Such  was  the  woman,  who  in  her  last  illness  made  this 
declaration  to  her  daughter,  "  I  can  say  one  thing  — 
since  my  heart  was  turned  to  the  Lord,  at  the  age  of 
Beventeen,  I  believe  I  have  never  wakened  from  sleep,  in 
sickness  or  in  health,  by  day  or  by  night,  without  my 
first  waking  thoughts  being.  How  shall  I  best  serve  my 
Lord?" 

Perhaps  it  will  be  thought  by  many  that  Mrs.  Fry's 
example,  though  so  beautiful,  is,  like  Lady  Hunting- 
don's, too  lofty  to  be  approached  and  imitated,  however 
it  may  be  contemplated  and  admired,  by  the  readers  of 
this  volume.  I  now,  then,  exhibit  one,  altogether  worthy 
to  follow  Mrs.  Fry's,  to  which  no  such  remark  will 
apply.  Sarah  Martin,  of  Great  Yarmouth,  was  brought 
up  to  the  business  of  a  dress-maker,  and  followed  this 
vocation  in  her  native  town.  Her  mind  was  brought 
under  the  saving  influence  of  religion  at  the  age  of  nine- 
teen. Like  most  others,  whose  conversion  to  God  is 
real,  she  no  sooner  experienced  the  blessedness  of  true 
religion,  than  she  longed  to  diffuse  it.  The  first  impulse 
of  her  zeal  was  a  strong  desire  to  visit  the  workhouse,  and 
read  and  pray  with  its  inmates.  God,  who  inspires  such 
wishes,  will  always  make  way  for  their  gratification  ;  and 
it  was  her  felicity  not  only  to  gain  admission  to  the 
house,  but  to  receive  a  hearty  welcome,  and  a  patient 
attention,  from  its  inmates.  In  the  same  year,  when 
passing  the  jail,  she  felt  a  strong  inclination  to  be  admit- 
ted within  its  gloomy  walls  and  cells,  to  read  tlie  Scrip- 
tures to  the  prisoners.  She  kept  her  wishes  a  secret, 
lest  her  friends  should  interfere,  and  hinder  her  in  this 
work  of  mercy.  God  led  her,  and  she  consulted  none 
but  him.  DiflSculties  presented  themselves,  but  they 
soon  vanished  before  the  power  of  faith,  prayer,  and  per- 
severance. The  governor,  aware  of  her  consistent  piety 
and  benevolent  character,  indulged  her  in  her  generous 
plan  of  benefiting  his  guilty  charge.  Her  frequent  visits 
soon  became  habitual  ones.     Finding,  on  one  occasion, 


EARNESTNESS.  255 

a  female  convict,  who  was  soon  about  to  be  transported, 
making  a  bonnet  on  the  Sabbath,  she  immediately  ob- 
tained permission  to  set  up  regular  Sunday  service,  which 
till  then  had  been  neglected  ;  and  which  from  that  time 
was  conducted  by  herself. 

To  carry  out  her  schemes  for  the  improvement  of  the 
prisoners,  she  now  sacrificed  one  day's  profitable  labor, 
to  give  it  to  them.  A  pious  lady,  aware  of  this  generous 
sacrifice,  bought  another  day's  labor  of  her  for  the  jail, 
by  allowing  her  what  she  usually  received  for  her  day's 
work.  Books  were  wanting  for  the  instruction  of  the 
women,  and  to  obtain  these  she  raised  a  quarterly  sub- 
scription among  a  few  friends.  In  connection  with  these 
visits  to  the  jail,  she  carried  on,  during  an  hour  or  two  of 
the  day,  the  instruction  of  a  few  boys  and  girls,  and  kept 
up  also  her  unabated  attention  to  the  paupers  in  the  work- 
house. As  the  close  sick  rooms  of  that  asylum  of  pov- 
erty materially  injured  her  health,  she  was  compelled  to 
relinquish  this  sphere  of  benevolence,  and  take  up,  in  lieu 
of  it,  a  workhouse  school.  At  length,  her  whole  time 
was  redeemed  from  making  ladies'  dresses,  and  given  to 
the  blessed  work  of  instructing  and  reforming  the  vic- 
tims of  sin  and  of  justice  ;  for,  as  may  be  supposed,  her 
business  would  naturally  and  necessarily  decline,  in  con- 
sequence of  her  irregular  attention  to  it.  Her  support 
failed  with  her  business,  except  what  she  derived  from 
the  interest  of  between  two  and  three  hundred  pounds. 
But  with  strong  and  unpresumptuous  faith,  she  exclaim- 
ed, "  The  Lord  will  provide  !"  And  so  he  did.  She 
had  by  this  time  become,  quite  unintentionally,  a  public 
character.  The  corporation  knew,  approved,  and  sanc- 
tioned her  labors  ;  and  did  more  than  this,  for  they  voted 
her  an  allowance  from  the  public  funds.  Her  delicate 
and  generous  mind  was  wounded  by  the  offer,  and  for 
a  while  she  pertinaciously  refused  it,  till  it  was  literally 
forced  upon  her,  by  her  acceptance  of  it  being  made  the 
condition  of  the  continuance  of  her  visits  to  the  jail. 
This,  of  course,  subdued  all  opposition.  In  this  career 
she  continued,  setting  up  one  institution  after  another  in 
the  jail,  for  the  benefit  of  its  inmates,  all  tending  to 
instruct  theu-  minds,  to  reform  their  morals,  to  promote 


256  EjXAMPLES    OF 

their  industry,  to  soften  the  rigor  of  their  imprisonment, 
and  to  prepare  them  either  for  their  return  to  society,  or 
for  their  banishment  into  a  land  of  exile.  Nor  did  her 
solicitude  leave  them  when  they  were  discharged  from 
prison,  but  followed  them  with  its  counsels  and  its 
vigilance  into  whatever  situation  she  could  trace  them. 
It  was  her  custom  to  compose  addresses,  in  the  fonii 
of  short  sermons,  to  be  read  to  them  at  their  Sunday 
worship,  and  which  did  honor  to  head  and  heart.  A 
few  of  these  are  printed  at  the  end  of  her  Memoirs.  So 
efficient  were  her  services  in  the  jail,  that  most  honorable 
mention  of  them  was  made  in  the  report  given  to  Parlia- 
ment by  the  Inspector  of  Prisons.  Her  influence,  which 
consisted  of  the  meekness  of  wisdom  and  the  gentleness 
of  love,  was  unbounded  over  her  guilty  and  degraded 
pupils.  Men,  as  well  as  women,  hardened  in  crime, 
would,  by  their  attention  and  kindness  to  her,  yield  the 
spectacle  of  the  lion  crouching  at  the  feet  of  the  lamb. 
In  this  way  did  this  modest  and  unassuming  young 
woman  pursue  her  beneficial  career,  struggling  all  the 
while  with  a  feeble  frame,  till,  worn  out  with  the  efforts 
of  her  self-denying  zeal,  the  operations  of  which  were 
often  carried  on  amidst  vermin,  filth,  and  vice,  so  abhor- 
rent to  her  physical  and  moral  sensibilities,  she  ceased 
from  her  labors,  and  entered  that  world  where  the  wicked 
cease  from  troubling,  and  the  weary  are  at  rest.  In 
prospect  of  her  decease,  she  composed  a  funeral  sermon 
for  herself,  to  be  read  to  the  prisoners  after  her  death, 
and  a  touching  and  beautiful  address  it  is. 

The  name  of  Sarah  Martin  will  never  cease  to  be 
mentioned  with  a  tribute  of  esteem,  as  long  as  there  are 
hearts  to  feel,  or  tongues  to  express,  a  high  admiration 
for  pure,  disinterested,  and  self-denying  benevolence. 

Was  not  this  earnesness  ?* 

Let  these  sketches  of  character  be  considered  not 
merely  as  giving  us  information,  but  as  furnishing  exam- 
ples—  not  merely  to  be  admired,  but  imitated  —  not 
merely  to  lay  down  a  rule,  but  to  give  an  impulse.  We 
see  what  others  have  done,  and  learn  what  we  ought  to 

*  An  interesting  memoir  of  this  most  excellent  woman  has  been 
published,  price  one  shilling,  by  the  Religious  Tract  Society. 


EARNESTNESS.  257 

do.  We  may  not  have  their  ten  talents,  but  we  learn 
from  them  how  to  employ  our  five  or  one.  Our  opporti*- 
nity  may  not  be  so  extensive  for  doing  good  as  theirs,  but 
our  desire  may  be  as  ardent.  The  grace  that  mo\ed 
them  can  move  us.  If  we  cannot  be  a  Mr.  Wilson,  we 
may,  perhaps,  become  a  Thomas  Cranfield,  or  a  Harlan 
Page  :  and  if,  my  female  readers,  you  cannot  be  a  Lady 
Huntingdon,  or  a  Mrs.  Fry,  you  may  perhaps  be  a  Sarah 
Martin.  May  we  all,  by  God's  grace,  drink  in  an  inspi- 
ration to  do  good  from  looking  at  these  examples  ! 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE  MEANS  TO  BE  USED  TO  OBTAIN  A  HIGHER  DEGRKK 
OF  EARNEST  PIETY  IN  THE  CHURCHES. 

This  increased  earnestness  is  a  state  of  things  which 
must  not  be  left  to  come  on  of  itself,  without  any  efforts 
of  ours,  or  be  carelessly  thrown  up(in  the  sovereignty  of 
God.  If  a  farm,  whose  scanty  produce  scarcely  repays 
its  tillage,  is  known  to  be  susceptible  of  greater  fertility, 
how  is  that  end  to  be  attained  ?  Not  by  leaving  the 
ground  to  itself,  or  continuing  the  old  sytem  of  hus- 
bandry, or  waiting  for  more  auspicious  seasons  :  there 
must  be  better  farming,  and  a  more  diligent  farmer. 
He  who  would  double  his  crops,  must  double  his  labor. 
"Up,  and  be  doing,"  is  the  voice  of  both  reason  and 
revelation.  I  would  raise,  if  I  could,  through  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  land,  the  stimulating  cry,  ^'■Something 
more  must  he  done.^^  I  do  not  mean  to  say  nothing  is 
being  done.  No.  Blessed  be  God,  not  only  something, 
but  much,  is  being  done.  I  would  start  in  a  new  career 
of  earnestness,  with  a  devout,  joyful,  and  grateful  admis- 
sion of  what  is  doing.  It  is  easier  to  keep  up  motion 
than  to  originate  it ;  and  it  is  easier  to  keep  in  action 
those  who  have  risen  up  from  their  repose,  and  are 
already  moving,  than  to  excite  others  who  are  reposing 
22 


258  MEANS   TO    OBTAIN 

on  the  couch  of  idleness.  It  is  both  untrue  and  3is- 
heartening  to  affirm  that  there  is  no  Hfe,  no  motioi ,  no 
activity,  in  the  church.  In  some  things  there  never  was 
more.  "  Whereunto  we  have  attained,  let  us  walk  by 
the  same  rule."  All  good  things  tend  to  better  things. 
Past  success  encourages  the  hope  of  achievements  yet 
to  be  made.  Despondency  paralyzes  exertion  ;  and  the 
shadows  of  present  fears  darken  the  path  of  the  future, 
and  frighten  us  back  when  we  would  advance.  Still  we 
are  not  what  we  ought  to  be,  what  we  might  be  —  what 
we  must  be. 

I.  As  everything  that  is  done  by  human  instrumental- 
ity is  the  result  of  reflection,  increased  earnestness  can 
only  arise  from  increased  thoughtfulness  ;  and  I  therefore 
now  suggest  certain  topics  connected  with  this  subject, 
for  the  deep  meditation  of  professing  Christians. 

Has  the  church  of  God  ever  yet  developed  fully  the 
divine  idea  of  its  own  nature,  and  transcendent  excel- 
lence and  importance,  as  set  forth  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment 1  Let  any  one  study  this  holy  community  as  it  is 
there  described,  and  then  say  whether  the  sublime  theory 
has  ever  yet  been  so  entirely  worked  out,  as  it  migh*" 
have  been,  and  should  have  been  1  Whether  the  unity 
—  the  sanctity  —  the  love  —  the  zeal  —  the  heavenliness, 
of  this  "  pattern  given  in  the  mount,"  have  been  em- 
bodied with  sufficient  and  attainable  approach  to  perfec- 
tion, in  the  Christian  profession  ?  Whether  the  true  idea 
of  "  a  chosen  generation,  a  royal  priesthood,  a  holy  nation, 
a  peculiar  people,"  —  a  body  of  redeemed  and  sanctified 
men  —  a  band  of  witnesses  for  God  —  has  not  been  sunk 
amidst  forms  of  government,  ceremonial  observances, 
and  mere  nominal  Christianity  ?  If  we  cannot  find  in  all 
its  grandeur  this  conception  of  the  infinite  Intellect  in  the 
pages  of  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  past  ages,  can  we 
find  it  now  1  Will  any  one,  on  looking  upon  the  schisms 
which  divide,  the  corruptions  which  have  disfigured,  and 
still  do  disfigure,  and  the  worldliness  which  enervates, 
the  church,  affirm,  that  this  is  according  to  the  archet3rpe 
in  the  Word  of  God?  Is  it  not,  then,  high  time  we 
should  begin  to  think,  and  think  earnestly,  of  conforming 
the  church  more  exactly  to  its  divine  model  1     Have  we 


AN    EARNEST    CHURCH.  259 

not  all  been  too  much  in  the  habit  of  considering  the 
church  as  symbolized  by  systems  of  ecclesiastical  polity 
and  denominational  distinctions  and  designations,  rather 
thai,  as  consisting  of  those  who  repent,  believe,  love  God, 
and  .ead  a  holy  life  ?  Have  vv^e  not  practically  mistaken 
the  whole  matter,  and  lost  the  essential  in  the  circumstan- 
tial —  the  vital  in  the  formal  ? 

A  second  subject  of  most  serious  consideration,  con- 
nected with  the  means  of  increased  earnestness,  is, 
whether  really  the  church  of  God  has  yet  so  fully 
answered  as  it  might  have  done,  and  should  have  done, 
the  divine  purpose  for  which  it  was  set  up,  and  which  is, 
to  bear  witness  of  the  truth  to  the  nations,  and  to  convert 
them  to  God.  If  it  has,  how  shall  we  account  for  it,  that 
in  the  nineteenth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  five  sixths 
of  the  population  of  the  globe  are  Pagans,  or  Mahomet- 
ans —  that  Christendom  itself  is  covered  with  such  hide- 
ous corruptions  of  the  gospel  —  and  that  even  the  more 
spiritual  professors  of  it  are  so  deeply  sunk  in  worldli- 
ness?  Surely  it  is  time  to  ask,  how  it  is  that  with  such 
a  divine  constitution  in  the  world,  and  set  up  for  such  a 
purpose,  its  design  has  not  been  more  fiilly  realized? 

Thirdly.  Has  the  church  ever  yet  thoroughly  under- 
stood and  seriously  revolved  its  own  design,  and  the  won- 
drous power  with  which  it  is,  or  might  be,  invested,  for 
the  accomplishment  of  this  end  ?  The  most  devoted 
Romanist  that  ever  lived,  who  has  sacrificed  everything 
for  the  church,  is  right,  quite  right,  in  his  idea  of  the  im- 
portance of  the  church,  and  is  wrong  only  in  applying 
tt.at  designation  to  his  communion.  The  church,  viewed 
in  all  its  relations,  is  God's  grandest,  noblest  idea,  and 
when  fully  developed  will  reveal  more  of  God  than  all 
the  universe  besides.  Have  we,  in  dwelling  upon  our 
connection  with  the  church,  felt  as  if  we  were  lifted  up, 
by  that  one  relationship,  into  an  elevation  of  surprising 
height,  grandeur,  and  importance ;  and  as  if,  therefore, 
the  business  of  our  existence  were  to  answer  the  purpose 
of  our  church  fellowship?  And  then,  have  we  studied, 
and  studied  deeply,  the  wondrous  spiritual  power  there 
would  be  in  the  church  if  it  were  in  such  a  state 
as  it  might  and  should  be?     Suppose  it  were  indeed 


260  MEANS    TO    OBTAIN 

"  the  tabernacle  of  God  v/ith  man  "  —  "  having  the  glory 
of  God  "  —  and  "  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of  God  "  — 
what  a  moral  power  would  it  not  contain,  and  must  it  not 
exert !  Suppose  all  its  ministers  were  full  of  knowledge, 
piety,  and  zeal  —  living  only  for  the  conversion  of  sin- 
ners and  the  edification  of  believers  —  each  in  his  place  a 
burning  and  a  shining  light.  Suppose  all  its  lay  ofii- 
cers  were  like  the  first  deacons,  full  of  faith  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  given  up  to  the  welfare  of  the  divine  commu- 
nity of  believers  upon  earth.  Suppose  all  the  corruptions 
that  distort  the  form  of  Christianity  and  its  doctrines 
were  done  away,  and  the  whole  professing  church  were 
entirely  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth.  Suppose  all 
the  members  of  the  church  were  consistent  in  their  conduct 
—  full  of  holy  unction  in  their  souls  —  all  self-dedicated, 
each  with  his  one,  five,  or  ten  talents,  whether  of  knowl- 
edge, wealth,  influence  —  and  all  united  and  harmonious. 
Suppose,  I  say,  this  were  the  state  of  the  church,  what 
wondrous  moral  power  it  would  contain,  and  how  soon 
then  would  its  design  be  accomplished  in  the  conversion 
of  the  world  !  Just  in  proportion  as  this  is  its  state  now, 
is  its  power  already.  Yes,  it  has  a  weight,  and  an  influ- 
ence now,  low  as  it  is,  compared  with  this  representation, 
which  nothing  else  wields.  It  is  already  silently  sway- 
ing to  a  considerable  extent  the  world's  destinies  ;  and 
what  would  be  its  power  if  it  were  brought  up  to  its 
proper  standard? 

Such  are  some  of  the  topics  which  must  become  the 
subjects  of  reflection  with  the  people  of  God,  if  there  be 
any  hope  of  increased  earnestness  in  religion.  The  mind 
must  be  occupied  with  these  momentous  subjects.  Some- 
thing higher  and  nobler  than  matters  of  brrjness,  or  poli- 
tics, or  science,  or  of  fashion,  or  even  of  church  polity, 
must  possess  their  hearts.  The  world  must  he  Lss.  and 
the  church  more,  in  their  esteem.  It.  is  only  on  the 
broad,  deep  basis  of  such  reflections  that  we  can  raise  a 
sound  and  enduring  superstructure'  of  more  intense  piety. 
The  church,  the  true  church  —  tl  e  church  in  its  scrip- 
tural meaning  —  in  its  spiritual  n  iture  —  as  it  is  viewed 
by  God,  and  not  as  it  is  considered  by  ecclesiastics, 
statesmen,  historians,  must  become  a  matter  of  intense 


AN    EARNEST    CHURCH.  261 

thoughtfulness,  solicitude,  conversation,  and  discussion  by 
professing  Christians.  Here  we  must  begin,  if  we  would 
have  it  what  it  should  be,  and  what  God  intended  it  to  be. 
II.  Let  the  increased  earnestness  of  the  church  be 
the  subject  of  devout,  serious,  and  general  conversation. 
It  must  not  be  dismissed  in  a  spirit  either  of  levity,  or 
of  self-complacency.  It  will  not  do  sneeringly  to  say, 
"  Leave  the  subject  to  the  gloomy  croakers,  and  the  self- 
conceited  reformers  ;  the  church  is  in  a  very  good  state, 
and  need  not  be  disturbed  by  a  set  of  evangelical  phari- 
sees."  They  who  speak  thus  cannot  surely  have  read 
the  New  Testament  with  attention  and  seriousness,  nor 
have  compared  with  its  requirements  the  state  of  their 
own  hearts,  or  that  of  the  Christian  church  at  large. 
Are  we,  then,  so  holy,  heavenly,  and  devout,  so  dead  to 
the  world,  and  so  devoted  to  Christ  and  his  cause,  as  to 
need  no  advance?  So  thought  not  Paul,  when,  in  refer- 
ence to  his  own  personal  experience,  he  would  forget  the 
things  that  were  behind,  and  reach  forth  unto  those  that 
were  before.  A  spirit  of  self-satisfaction  and  compla- 
cency —  a  resting  in  things  as  they  are  —  a  good-enough 
state  of  mind,  will,  if  we  cherish  it,  be  our  bane.  We 
shall  never  be  in  earnest  at  all,  if  we  think  we  are  in 
iarnest  enough.  The  very  word,  earnestness,  implies  an 
ntense  desire  after  what  we  have  not  at  all,  or  after  more 
of  what  we  already  possess.  Instead,  therefore,  of  self- 
complacency  and  satisfaction,  let  each  member  of  every 
church  begin  to  think  seriously  and  devoutly  upon  the  im- 
portance and  necessity  of  improvement  and  growth.  Let 
each  speak  of  it  to  his  fellow-Christian,  and  raise  a  general 
reference  to  the  matter.  Let  it  be  the  talk  of  the  church, 
the  theme  of  the  day.  When  it  is  uppermost  in  our 
hearts,  it  will  be  sure  to  be  the  topic  of  our  conversation 
in  company.  When,  instead  of  being  contented  with  our 
state,  we  begin  to  say,  "We  must  have  more  life, 
more  vigor,  more  action,  in  our  piety,"  then  we  shall 
have  it.  Especially  let  us  resist  the  efforts  of  those,  who, 
not  wishing  to  be  stimulated  themselves,  will  endeavor  to 
persuade  us  that  things  are  well  enough  already,  and 
should  be  let  alone.  There  never  will,  never  can,  be 
22* 


262  MEANS    TO    OBTAIN 

more  earnestness,  till  a  felt  need  of  it  pervade  *ie  Chris- 
tian church,  till  it  has  seized  and  possessed  the  public 
mind,  and  has  become  the  topic  of    general  discourse. 

III.  It  is  of  immense  importance  that  this  subject 
should  be  brought  frequently  and  urgently  before  the 
church(js,  by  the  ministrations  of  the  pulpit.  The  strain 
of  preaching  should  be  of  a  character  that  tends  to  foster 
this  spirit.  What  is  the  design  t)f  ministerial  and  pas- 
toral duties,  if  not  to  accomplish  this  end  ?  Every  min- 
ister should  often  ask  himself  a  few  such  questions  as  the 
following  :  —  "  What  is  genuine  earnestness  of  personal 
religion?  What  kind  of  ministry  is  adapted  to  promote 
it?  Is  mine  such  a  ministry?"  Without  a  thorough 
understanding  of  all  these  topics,  no  man  can  hope  to  ac- 
complish the  end  of  his  office,  and  promote  around  him 
a  spirit  of  intense  and  consistent  religion.  If  ministerial 
notions  of  religion  are  loose,  and  extend  no  further  than 
to  outward  and  conventional  decorum — if  ministers  are 
strangers  themselves  to  any  great  power  of  the  divine 
life,  and  see  no  great  need  of  it  in  others  —  if  they  set 
down  as  enthusiasm,  or  as  religious  cant,  the  influence  of 
rehgion  upon  the  heart,  and  a  high-toned  spirituality  — 
if  they  are  lukewarm  in  their  affections,  worldly  in  their 
tastes  and  habits,  and  lax  in  their  theology — then, 
nothing  can  be  expected  from  their  sermons  in  the  pulpit, 
or  their  conversation  in  the  parlor,  that  is  .likely  to  in- 
crease the  earnestness  of  their  churches.  Their  ministra- 
tion will  inevitably  partake  of  the  character  of  their  own 
personal  religion.  They  will  not  express,  much  less 
inculcate,  a  ferv^or  they  do  not  feel.  It  becomes  them  to 
take  care  that  there  does  not  spring  up  among  the  pastors 
of  the  evangelical  dissenting  churches,  a  class  answering 
to  the  Moderates  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  the  anti- 
evangelical  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England ;  men, 
whose  hearts  are  uninfluenced  by  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus,  and  about  whom  this  very  truth  itself  hangs  but 
loosely  ;  whose  sermons  are  dry  discussions  of  mere  eth- 
ical subjects  ;  whose  demeanor  may  be  marked  by  official 
decorum,  but  whose  character,  conduct,  and  ministrations, 
are  devoid  of  that  evangelical  sentiment,  spirituality,  unc- 
tion, fervor,  which  alone  can  promote  similar  views  and 


AJM  EARNEST  CHURCH.  263 

feelings  among  the  people.  Everything,  under  God, 
depends  upon  the  ministry  :  earnest  churches  cannot  be 
expected  but  from  earnest  preachers.  But  it  will  be  un- 
necessary to  enlarge  here  upon  a  topic  which  has  already 
formed  the  subject  of  a  volume,  and  it  shall  therefore  be 
only  further  remarked,  that,  unless  the  pulpit  be  made  tc 
bear  with  all  its  power  on  this  very  point,  there  is  litt?« 
hope  of  any  increase  in  the  earnestness  of  the  churches. 
The  whole  combined  influence  of  the  preachers  of  God's 
glorious  gospel  is  indispensable.  The  standard  of  per- 
sonal godliness  must  be  lifted  up,  and  lifted  high,  too. 
The  nature  of  sanctification,  as  well  as  regeneration, 
must  be  explained ,  and  its  necessity  insisted  upon  —  the 
life  of  God  in  the  soul  enforced  —  the  separation  of  the 
people  of  God  from  the  people  of  the  world  enjoined  — 
and  a  habit  of  self-denial  and  mortification  inculcated. 
There  must  be  no  sewing  pillows  under  the  arms  of 
sleepy  professors  —  no  spirit  of  accommodation  to  the 
requirements  of  worldly-minded  Christians —  no  prophe- 
sying of  smooth  things  —  no  healing  the  hurt  of  tb*) 
daughter  of  Zion  slightly  —  no  crying  peace,  peace, 
to  them  that  are  at  ease  in  Zion.  On  the  contrary,  the 
defects  and  sins  of  professors  must  be  pointed  out 
rebuked,  and  denounced  —  their  judgments  must  bf 
informed  of  the  nature  of  true  godliness  —  their  con- 
sciences awakened,  and  their  resolution  of  amendmem 
engaged.  Fpr  this  purpose  the  most  unsparing  fidelity, 
combined  with  the  greatest  affection,  must  be  used,  every 
energy  roused,  and  the  whole  course  of  the  ministry 
directed  so  as  to  bring  up  the  piety  of  the  churches  to 
the  standard  of  God's  Holy  Word.  And  all  this  must  at 
the  same  time  be  entered  into  and  approved  of  by  the 
people.  Instead  of  being  offended  by  the  plainness  of  the 
minister,  they  must  admire  his  courage  and  applaud  his 
fidehty ;  instead  of  resenting  his  affectionate  solicitude 
to  aid  them  in  the  crucifixion  of  besetting  sins,  and  draw- 
ing them  out  of  the  entanglements  of  the  world,  they 
should  feel  grateful  for  such  self-denying  offices  of  his 
generous  friendship  ;  instead  of  quarrelling  with  him  for 
his  puritanic  notions  and  unnecessary  strictness,  they 
ought  to  hold  up  his  hands,  in  holding  up  the  law  of  God 


MEANS    TO    OBTAIN 

as  the  divine  mirror  by  which  they  are  to  examine  and 
adjust  themselves. 

IV.  If  the  church  be  ever  stirred  up  to  greater  ear- 
nestness, it  must  be  by  the  greater  earnestness  ot  its 
individual  riembers.  We  have  already  had  frequent 
occasion,  in  this  work,  to  remark  that  there  is  a  fatal 
propensity,  in  the  members  of  all  communities,  to  get  rid 
of  individual  responsibility,  and,  by  a  fiction,  to  think  of 
the  responsibility  of  the  body.  There  is,  in  reality,  no 
such  thing  as  a  collective  conscience;  bodies,  as  such, 
cannot  be  accountable.  God  will  not,  as  regards  eter- 
nity, deal  with  nations,  or  churches,  or  families.  It  was 
a  fine  purpose  of  a  young  Christian  which  he  thus  en- 
tered in  his  diary :  "  Resolved  that  I  will,  the  Lord  being 
my  helper,  think,  speak,  and  act,  as  an  individual;  for 
as  such  I  must  live,  as  such  I  must  die,  stand  before 
God,  and  be  damned  or  saved  forever  and  ever.  I  have 
been  waiting  for  others  ;  I  must  act  as  if  I  were  the  only 
one  to  act,  and  wait  no  longer."  This  is  just  the  view 
and  the  purpose  to  be  taken  by  us  all.  It  is  as  indi- 
viduals we  must  act  for  ourselves,  and  he  who  acts  for 
himself  in  this  matter  will  certainly  influence  others. 
Every  man  acts  upon  some  other  man.  Example  is 
influence.  The  diffusion  of  religion  is  like  the  kindling 
of  a  fire,  or  the  lighting  of  so  many  tapers  ;  one  original 
flame  may,  by  contact,  communicate  itself  to  a  multitude 
or  other  points.  It  was  said  of  Harlan  Page,  by  one 
who  knew  him  intimately,  "I  have  well  considered  the 
assertion  when  I  say,  that  during  nine  years,  in  which 
we  were  associated  in  labors,  I  do  not  know  that  I  ever 
passed  an  interview  with  him  long  enough  to  have  any 
interchange  of  thought  and  feeling,  in  which  I  did  not 
receive  from  him  an  impulse  heavenward  —  an  im.pulse 
onward  in  duty  to  God  and  the  souls  of  men."  If  this 
could  be  said  of  all  professing  Christians,  we  should  see 
earnestness  in  reality. 

Let  it,  then,  be  now  formally,  seriously,  and  solemnly 
proposed,  that  each  reader  of  this  volume  will  seriously 
and  immediately  begin  to  be  more  in  earnest  for  himself. 
Let  him  indulge  in  some  such  reflections  as  these  :  "If 
the  chup  H  is  ever  made  more  earnest,  it  must  be  by  an  in- 


AN   EARNEST   CHURCH.  265 

creased  earnestness  in  its  indi\,idual  members.  7  am  one 
of  those  members,  and  am  as  much  bound  to  advance  in 
the  divine  life  as  any  other.  It  is  but  hypocrisy,  gross, 
disgusting  hypocrisy,  to  lament  over  the  low  state  of  re- 
ligion in  the  church,  and  to  desire  a  revival,  while  I  am 
unconcerned  about  the  state  of  my  own  religion,  and  do 
not  seek  a  revival  of  that.  I  will  begin  with  myself.  1 
will  wait  for  no  other o  I  must  be  more  in  earnest,  and, 
God  helping  me,  I  will  be."  We  may  now  just  notice 
the  steps  which  such  a  person  ought  to  take  to  accom- 
plish his  resolution. 

Let  him  turn  away  from  all  the  conventional  piety  of 
the  day,  and  read  over,  with  devout  attention,  what  is 
said,  in  a  former  chapter,  of  the  true  nature  of  genuine 
piety. 

Let  him,  in  a  season  of  closet  devotion,  examine  his 
own  piety,  and  compare  it  with  this  standard. 

Let  him,  upon  discovering  his  great  and  numerous 
short-comings,  humble  and  abase  himself  before  God,  in 
a  spirit  of  true  contrition. 

Let  him  reject  all  excuses  which  his  own  deceitful 
heart,  and  lukewarm,  worldly-minded  Christians,  will  be 
ever  ready  to  suggest,  for  self-defence,  and  be  thoroughly 
convinced  that  nothing  can,  or  will,  be  admitted  by  God 
as  an  apology  for  a  low  state  of  personal  religion. 

Let  him  intensely  desire  to  be  raised  from  his  depressed 
condition  into  a  more  exalted  state  of  spirituality,  heav- 
enly-mindedness,  and  devoted  zeal. 

Let  him  set  himself  most  vigorously  to  the  work  of 
mortifying  sin  and  crucifying  the  flesh. 

Let  him  redouble  his  diligence  in  attending  the  means 
of  grace,  and  especially  let  him  give  himself  to  reading 
the  Scriptures,  meditation,  and  prayftr. 

Let  him  add  season  to  season  of  special  numiliation 
and  supplication,  to  obtain  a  new  and  copious  effusion  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  of  God. 

Let  him  cultivate  a  new  and  more  delicate  sensibility 
of  conscience,  in  reference  to  all  matters  of  offence,  both 
towards  God  and  man. 

Let  him  seek  to  have  his  mind  illuminated  by  the 


S^  BIEANS    TO    OBTAIN 

Spirit  and  Word  of  God,  in  the  knowledge  of  the  person, 
offices,  and  work,  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Let  him  give  himself  to  Christian  vigilance,  watching 
ever  against  sin. 

Let  him,  in  short,  intelligently,  resolutely,  and  unal- 
terably, make  up  his  mind  to  enter  upon  a  new  course 
of  personal  godliness,  so  new  that  his  past  attainments 
shall  seem  as  if  they  were  nothing.  There  is  such  a 
thing  as  starting  afresh,  as  forgetting  the  things  that 
are  behind  —  and  so  must  it  be  with  him  who  would  be 
really  in  earnest.  He  will  wake  up  from  his  slumber- 
ing, dreamy  profession,  saying,  "  I  have  slept  too  long 
and  too  much  ;  I  must  now  throw  off  the  spirit  of  sloth, 
and  give  all  diligence  to  make  my  calling  and  election 
sure." 

V.  There  must  be  an  increased  and  pervading  spirit 
of  believing  and  importunate  prayer,  especially  for  the 
outpouring  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  If  it  is  saying  too  much 
to  affirm  that  the  earnestness  of  religion  is  identical  with 
the  earnestness  of  prayer,  because  this  would  seem  to 
imply  that  prayer  is  the  whole  of  religion,  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  earnestness  in  religion  is  ever  charac- 
terized by  earnestness  of  prayer,  and  that  there  is  really 
no  more  of  the  former  than  there  is  of  the  latter.  It  is 
absolutely  impossible,  in  the  nature  of  things,  that  either 
an  individual,  a  church,  or  an  age,  can  be  earnest  in  piety, 
where  there  is  lukewarmness  in  devotion.  The  church 
needs  the  spirit  of  prayer,  both  for  its  own  internal  state 
and  for  its  external  operations  —  for  its  own  spiritual  life, 
and  for  its  influence  upon  the  world  —  for  its  more  perfect 
sanctification,  and  for  its  more  extensive  usefulness. 

Let  it  be  borne  in  recollection  that  religion  is  a  divine 
creation,  a  heavenly  production ;  there  is  not  a  particle 
of  it  in  our  world,  but  what  cometh  down  from  above 
no,  not  a  ray  of  holy  light,  nor  a  glow  of  spiritua 
warmth,  but  what  is  an  emission  from  the  fountain  of 
selestial  radiance  and  fire.  All  on  earth  will  be  sterility 
and  desolation  till  the  shower  descends  from  the  clouds 
which  hang  around  the  throne  of  God.  The  world  can 
no  more  be  regenerated  and  sanctified,  without  the  work 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  than  it  can  be  redeemed  without  the 


AN    EARNEST    CHURCH.  267 

blood  of  the  Son  of  God.  The  soul  that  is  not  visited 
by  these  genial  influences  of  the  new  heavens  will  be  a 
desert  soul  ;  without  these,  the  church  will  be  a  desert 
church  ;  the  world  a  desert  world.  We  cannot  be  too 
deeply  convinced  of  the  need  of  the  Spirit's  operation  — 
a  defect  of  conviction  on  this  point  is  radical,  and  will 
enervate  everything,  and  cause  ultimate  and  universal 
disappointment.  Deny  or  forget,  or  only  coldly  and 
theoretically  admit,  this,  and  whatever  forms  of  individual 
devotion,  and  creeds  of  orthodoxy,  we  may  maintain  — 
whatever  systems  of  ecclesiastical  polity  we  may  set  up 
—  whatever  societies  of  confederated  zeal  we  may  organ- 
ize, we  are  only  building  a  Babel  to  proclaim  our  folly, 
or  a  mausoleum  to  entomb  our  religion.  This  great 
truth  must  not  go  down  even  in  the  shadow  of  the  cross. 
While  we  contend  for  the  free  agency,  and  therefore  the 
responsibility,  of  man,  and  press  these  home  upon  the 
conscience,  still  we  must  recollect  that  the  sinner  never 
will  do,  what  in  one  sense  he  can  do,  till  he  is  made 
wiUing  in  the  day  of  God's  power.  All  hope  of,  and  all 
attempt  at,  revival,  either  in  our  own  soul,  or  in  our  own 
church,  or  in  our  own  age,  must  begin  here.  This  is  to 
begin  at  the  beginning.  "  0  Christians,  is  there  such  a 
doctrine  in  our  creed  as  the  doctrine  of  divine  influence  ? 
Is  there  such  an  Agent  in  the  church  as  the  almighty 
Spirit  of  God  ?  Is  he  amongst  us  expressly  to  testify  of 
Christ  —  to  be  the  great  animating  spirit  of  his  mission- 
ary witness,  the  church?  and  is  it  true  that  his  unlimited 
aid  can  be  obtained  by  prayer — (that  we  can  be  baptized 
with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  with  fire  1  O,  ye  that  preach, 
'believe  the  promise  of  the  Spirit,  and  be  saved.'  Ye 
that  love  the  Lord,  keep  not  silence ;  send  up  a  loud, 
long,  united,  and  unsparing  entreaty  for  his  promised 
aid.  This,  this  is  what  we  want.  And  this  is  all  we 
want.  Till  this  be  obtained,  all  the  angelic  agency  of 
heaven  will  avail  us  nothings ;  and  when  it  is  obtained, 
all  that  agency  will  be  unequal  to  the  celebration  of  oui 
triumphs."* 

Let  this  impressive  and  beautiful  paragraph  be  written 

*  "  The  Witnessing  Church." 


268  MEANS    TO    OBTAIN 

upon  our  hearts,  repeated  by  our  lips,  and  sounded  by 
ten  thousand  echoes  throughout  the  land.  This  must  be 
the  burden  of  the  chnrch's  prayers,  for  God  has  sus- 
pended, to  a  considerable  extent,  the  outpouring  of  the 
Spirit,  upon  the  supplications  of  his  people  ;  an  arrange- 
ment by  which  he  honors  himself  in  being  thus  publicly 
acknowledged  as  the  Author  of  all  good,  and  at  the  same 
time  honors  his  church  by  making  her  the  medium 
through  which  the  blessing  descends.  What  a  tremen- 
dous responsibility,  then,  does  this  devolve  upon  the 
church  !  If  it  depended  upon  our  prayers  whether  the 
sun  should  rise,  or  the  rain  should  descend,  upon  the  in- 
habitants of  the  other  hemisphere,  should  we  not,  if  we 
neglected  prayer,  be  chargeable  with  the  perpetual  night, 
and  desolating  drought,  which  resulted  to  the  countless 
millions  that  perished  for  lack  of  the  light  of  day,  and 
the  fertilizing  shower?  Had  we  any  bowels  of  compas- 
sion, should  we  ever  look  up  at  the  orb  of  day,  or  the 
floating  cisterns  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  without  implor- 
ing the  God  of  nature  to  forward  their  inestimable  treas- 
ures to  the  benighted  and  starving  inhabitants  of  other 
regions  ?  Christians,  the  moral  world  is  in  darkness  and 
in  drought  for  want  of  your  prayers  —  sin  reigns,  Satan 
triumphs,  hell  is  peopled,  through  the  want  of  your 
prayers  —  the  dominion  of  Christ,  the  spread  of  truth, 
the  millennial  glory,  are  hindered  through  the  want  of 
your  prayers  —  your  missionary  societies  and  all  your  or- 
ganizations of  pious  zeal ;  your  abounding  liberality  and 
active  exertions,  are  but  very  partially  successful,  through 
the  want  of  your  prayers.  Think  of  this,  and  tremble 
at  your  responsibility,  and  tremble  still  more  at  your  in- 
sensibility. Yes,  what  we  want  is  more  prayer.  I  know 
we  want  money,  we  want  men — but  we  want  prayer 
still  more.  More  prayer  will  give  us  more  of  everything 
else  that  is  necessary.  Hear  the  testimony  of  your  mis- 
sionaries sent  to  us  from  the  midst  of  their  difficulties 
among  the  heathen  —  "Brethren,  pray  for  us;"  trans- 
mitted to  us  from  their  sick  and  dying  beds,  "  Brethren, 
fray  for  us  ;"  delivered  to  us,  when,  wasted  and  worn, 
they  come  back  to  England  to  recruit  their  enfeebled 
Btrength,  "Brethren,  pray  for  us;" — this,  this  is  the 


AN    EARNEST    CHURCH.  269 

emphatic  supplication  from  every  missionary  station  un- 
der heaven,  and  borne  to  us  by  every  breeze  and  every 
wave  that  touches  our  shore,  "  Brethren,  pray  for  us." 
Could  all  the  missionaries  of  all  the  societies,  and  from 
all  the  stations  upon  earth,  assemble  in  one  place,  how- 
ever they  may  differ  on  some  points  of  doctrine  and  dis- 
cipline, they  would  be  perfectly  harmonious  in  bearing 
this  testimony,  that  prayer  is  the  best  hope  of  the  mission- 
ary cause. 

We  were  never  more  in  danger  of  forgetting  the  im- 
portance and  necessity  of  prayer  than  at  the  present  mo- 
ment. Our  institutions  have  risen  *; :  a  magnitude  and 
extension  which  are  grand  and  imposing ;  it  is  an  age 
of  great  societies,  an  era  of  organization,  when  there  is 
imminent  peril  of  trusting  to  the  wisdom  of  committees, 
and  the  power  of  eloquence,  of  numbers,  and  of  money, 
instead  of  the  power  of  prayer.  We  cannot,  I  know,  do 
without  organization,  and  it  makes  one's  heart  throb  with' 
delight  to  see  to  what  an  extent  it  is  carried.  The  an- 
nual list  which  is  published  of  our  May  meetings  is  one 
of  the  greatest  wonders  of  the  age,  the  brightest  glories 
of  the  church,  and  the  richest  hopes  of  posterity.  That 
one  document  appears  to  my  eye  as  the  ruby-tinted  clouds 
of  the  orient  sky,  which  announce  the  approach  of  the 
millennial  orb.  But  then  our  glory  is  our  danger ;  this 
very  organization  may  seduce  us,  and  I  am  afraid  is  se- 
ducing us,  and  has  seduced  us,  from  our  dependence  upon 
God,  till  organization  is  likely  to  become  the  image  of 
jealousy,  which  maketh  jealous  in  the  temple  of  the 
Lord. 

An  eloquent  speaker  once  said  upon  a  missionary  plat- 
form, "  Money,  money,  money,  is  the  life's  blood  of  the 
missionary  cause!"  I  would  substitute  another  word, 
and  say,  "  Prayer,  prayer,  prayer,  is  the  life's  blood  of 
the  missionary  cause."  I  am  no  enthusiast ;  I  do  not 
expect  our  cause  to  be  sustained  without  money  ;  nor  do 
I  expect  gold  to  be  rained  out  of  heaven  into  our  coffers. 
Money  we  must  have,  in  far  greater  abundance  than  we 
now  have,  and  money  will  come  at  the  bidding  of  prayer. 
If  we  had  more  fervsnt,  believing  supplication,  we  should 
23 


270  MEi\NS    TO    OBTAIN 

have  more  wealth.  The  same  spirit  of  sincere  and  im- 
portunate supplication  which  would  bring  d^wn  t.ie  treas- 
ures of  heavenly  grace,  would  call  forth  the  supplies  of 
earthly  means.  I  repeat,  what  I  think  I  have  said  some- 
where else,  that  I  could  be  almost  content  that  for  the 
next  year  not  a  word  was  said  about  money,  and  the 
church  be  summoned  universally  to  intense  and  believing 
supplication.  Ministers  of  the  gospel,  lay  this  matter 
upon  the  consciences  of  your  flocks  ;  instruct  them  in 
their  duty,  and  urge  them  to  it.  Remind  them  that  what 
we  need  is  not  only  a  giving  church,  and  a  working 
church,  but  a  praying  church.  Tell  them  that  praying 
for  the  coming  down  of  the  Spirit  is  not  to  be  confined 
to  the  Sabbath  and  the  pulpit,  nor  to  the  missionary  and 
social  prayer  meeting,  but  that  it  is  every  man's  business 
at  his  own  family  altar,  and  in  his  closet.  Then,  when 
the  whole  church  of  God,  with  all  its  families  apart,  and 
every  individual  member  apart,  shall  be  engaged  in  a 
spirit  of  believing  and  fervent  supplication  ;  then  may  it 
be  expected  the  Spirit  of  God  will  come  down  in  power 
and  glory  upon  the  earth  —  and  not  till  then,  whatever  of 
organization,  of  wealth,  of  eloquence,  or  of  numbers, 
may  be  engaged  in  the  cause  of  Christian  missions.  Ac- 
tivity and  devotion  —  giving  and  praying  —  a  conscien- 
tious zeal,  and  a  feeling  of  entire  dependence  upon  God, 
must  be  nicely  balanced 'in  all  we  do.  The  more  we 
give,  the  more  we  should  pray  ;  and  the  more  we  pray, 
the  more  we  should  give.  The  proportions  are  often  dis- 
turbed ;  —  our  danger  in  this  day  lies  in  an  excess  of  ac- 
tivity over  the  spirit  of  prayer.  Let  us  restore  the  bal- 
ance, and  bring  on  an  era  which  shall  be  characterized  as 
the  praying  age  of  the  missionary  enterprise. 

Our  supplications  should  be  the  prayers  of  faith.  We 
ought  to  know  and  to  feel  that  the  cause  of  missions  is 
no  mere  experiment  in  the  spiritual  world,  no  invention 
of  man,  no  mere  tentative  scheme  — but  an  attempt,  the 
success  of  which  is  guaranteed  by  all  the  attributes  of  the 
eternal  God,  and  which  should  therefore  be  supplicated 
in  the  full  confidence  of  assured  expectation.  And  to 
faith,  we  must  add  fervor  ;  we  must  pray  for  the  regen- 
eration of  the  world,  with  an  intelligent  perception  of 


AN    EARNEST   CHURCH.  271 

what  is  include i  in  that  wondrous  phrase,  "  a  world  con- 
verted from  idolatry  to  Christ,"  with  a  recollection  that 
this  is  in  some  sense  suspended  upon  our  prayers  —  and 
with  such  an  importunity  as  we  might  be  supposed  to 
employ  if  the  world's  salvation  depended  upon  our  indi- 
vidual intercession. 

But  this  spirit  of  prayer  is  needed  by  the  church,  not 
only  to  give  power  and  efficiency  to  her  operations  for  the 
conversion  of  sinners,  but  for  her  own  internal  improve- 
ment —  to  increase,  and  indeed  to  indicate,  her  earnest- 
ness for  her  own  salvation.  She  needs  an  outpouring  of 
the  Spirit  upon  herself,  to  rouse  her  from  her  lukewarm- 
ness,  and  to  elevate  her  to  a  higher  state  of  purity,  fer- 
vor, and  consistency.  She  needs  revival,  and  it  can  be 
looked  for  only  in  answer  to  the  fervent  prayer  of  faith, 
and  in  answer  to  such  prayers  it  may  be  ever  and  every- 
where expected.  To  say  nothing  of  other  instances 
well  known,  and  some  of  them  alluded  to  in  this  work,  I 
may  refer  to  the  success  of  that  flaming  seraph,  Mr. 
M'Cheyne,  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  whose  early 
death,  in  the  midst  of  his  usefulness,  is  one  of  the  myste- 
.ies  of  Providence  too  deep  to  sound  with  mortal  lines. 
He  thus  records  in  his  diary  the  spirit  of  prayer  which 
prevailed  among  his  people,  "  Many  prayer-meetings 
were  formed,  some  of  which  were  strictly  private ;  and 
others,  conducted  by  persons  of  some  Christian  experi- 
ence, were  open  to  persons  under  concern,  at  one  another's 
h)uses.  At  the  time  of  my  returning  from  the  mission 
to  the  Jews,  I  found  thirty-nine  such  meetings  held  weekly, 
in  connection  with  the  congregation."  0  that  this  beau- 
xiful  instance  of  cooperation  with  the  minister,  by  the 
■people,  prevailed  through  all  our  churches  !  Look  at  it, 
professing  Christians  —  ponder  it,  church  members  !  The 
whole  church,  or,  at  any  rate,  its  more  experienced  mem- 
bers, resolving  themselves  into  thirty-nine  prayer  associ- 
itions,  meeting  weekly,  fostering  new  converts,  ana  all 
♦his  in  the  absence  of  the  pastor  !  When  shall  this  pat- 
tern be  imitated  ?  When  shall  all  our  deacons,  and  lead- 
ing members,  go  and  do  likewise?  When  shall  our 
churches  be  made  up  of  praying  members,  and  be  full  of 
the  spirit  of  prayer  after  this  fashion  1     This  is  the  ear- 


272  MEANS    TO    OBTAIN 

nestness  of  a  church  —  the  earnestness  of  religion  —  the 
earnestness  of  prayer.  Revivals  vv^ill  always  come,  where 
this  is  found.     It  is  itself  a  revival. 

If  there  be  one  thing  v^hich  is  more  suited  to  our  con 
dition,  and  more  prompted  by  our  necessities,  it  is  prayer 
—  if  there  be  one  duty  vt^hich  is  more  frequently  enjoined 
by  the  precepts,  or  more  beautifully  enforced  by  the  ex- 
amples, of  Scripture,  it  is  prayer  —  if  there  be  one  prac- 
tice in  which  the  experience  of  all  good  men  of  every 
age,  every  country,  and  every  church,  has  more  entirely 
agreed,  it  is  prayer  —  if  there  be  one  thing  which  more 
decisively  marks  the  spirit  of  sincere  and  individual  piety, 
it  is  prayer  ;  so  that  it  may  be  safely  affirmed,  where  the 
spirit  of  prayer  is  low  in  the  soul  of  an  individual,  a 
country,  an  age,  or  a  church,  whatever  else  there  may  be, 
of  morality,  of  ceremony,  of  liberality,  the  spirit  of  reli- 
gion is  low  also. 

Now  it  is  most  seriously  to  be  apprehended  that  this 
deficiency  of  prayer  is  the  characteristic  of  our  age.  It 
is  a  preaching  age,  a  speaking  age,  a  hearing  age,  but 
not  eminently  a  praying  one.  Men  are  too  busy  to  pray. 
Even  the  most  distinguished  Christians  are  too  apt  to 
shorten  the  seasons  of  prayer,  in  order  to  lengthen  those 
of  secular  and  sacred  business.  Everything  is  against 
the  spirit  of  prayer,  not  only  in  the  world,  but  in  the 
church.  I  know  very  well  we  cannot  expect,  in  such  an 
age  as  ours^the  same  spirit  of  devotion  as  prevailed  in 
persecuting 'times,  when  John  Welsh,  one  of  the  men  of 
the  Covenant,  spent  whole  days  praying  in  the  church  of 
Ayr  for  his  parishioners,  wrestling  alone  with  God  — 
who  used  to  lay  his  plaid  by  his  bedside,  and  to  rise  often 
in  the  middle  of  the  night,  wrap  himself  in  his  garment, 
pour  out  his  soul  to  his  Maker,  and  say,  "  I  wonder  how 
a  Christian  can  lie  in  bed  all  night,  and  not  rise  to  pray  !" 
We  do  not  expect  even  the  most  holy  ministers  to  spend 
eight  hours  a  day  in  prayer,  as  he  did,  who  had  little  to 
do  but  to  suffer,  and  to  pray  ;  but  surely  we  may  expect 
more  of  the  spirit  of  prayer  than  we  now  witness,  either 
in  pastors  or  their  flocks. 

There  is  one  view  of  prayer,  which  has  not  been  so 
much  considered  as  it  should  be  ;  and  that  is  its  reflex 


AN   EARNEST   CHURCH.  273 

power,  or,  in  other  words,  the  moral  influence  of  prayer 
upon  the  individual  mind  ei.gaged  in  it.  No  doubt  it  is 
an  expressive  homage  paid  to  God,  and  an  appointed 
means  of  obtaining  blessings  from  above  ;  hut  it  is  more, 
for  it  is  an  ordinance  of  self-edification.  The  offspring 
of  our  desires,  it  reacts  upon  its  source,  making  them 
more  strong,  more  vivid,  more  solemn,  more  prolonged, 
and  more  definite  as  to  their  objects ;  forming  them  into 
expressions  to  God  will  concentrate  the  soul  in  them,  and 
upon  their  objects.  Every  sincere  act  of  adoration  in- 
creases our  veneration  for  the  divine  character  —  every 
confession  of  sin  deepens  our  penitence  —  every  petition 
for  a  favor  cherishes  a  sense  of  dependence  —  every  in- 
tercession for  others  expands  our  philanthropy  —  and 
every  acknowledgement  of  a  mercy  inflames  our  grati- 
tude. Every  good  man  is,  therefore,  the  better  for  his 
own  prayers,  which  not  only  obtain  other  good  things, 
but  are  good  to  him  themselves.  Hence,  when  an  indi- 
vidual can  be  stirred  up  to  pray  more  for  increased  ear- 
nestness of  religion,  his  supplication  contains  both  the 
prayer  and  its  answer,  and  affords  a  literal  fufilment  of 
the  promise,  "  Before  they  call  I  will  answer."  Thus  a 
good  man  never  entirely  loses  his  prayers,  for  if  they  do 
no  good,  and  bring  no  blessing  to  others,  they  do  to  him- 
self. Whenever  the  church,  therefore,  is  stirred  up  to  a 
more  intense  spirit  of  prayer  for  a  revival,  the  revival  is 
begun. 

But  the  benefit  does  not  stop  here,  for  God  will  answer 
such  supplications,  and  bestow  the  gift  that  is  sought. 
God  is  ever  waiting  to  be  gracious.  His  language  ever 
is,  "  Open  thy  mouth  wide,  and  I  will  fill  it.  Prove  me 
now  herewith,  saith  the  Lord,  if  I  will  not  open  the  win- 
dows of  heaven,  and  pour  you  out  a  blessing  that  there 
shall  not  be  room  enough  to  receive  it."  The  promises 
to  this  effect  are  so  numerous,  and  so  express,  that  it 
would  seem  as  if  the  church  might  enjoy  any  measure  of 
divine  power,  which  she  had  the  piety  to  desire,  the  faith 
to  ask,  or  the  will  to  receive.  She  is  invited  to  launch 
forth  into  all  the  fulness  of  God,  and  to  replenish  herself 
9  ith  the  inexhaustible  riches  of  divine  grace. 
23* 


274  WEANS    TO    OBTAIN 

The  best  way  to  ascertain  how  much  of  the  spirit  of 
prayer  is  wanting,  or  is  possessed,  in  this  day,  is,  for 
each  reader  of  this  volume  to  ask  how  it  is  with  him. 
He  best  knows  himself,  and  his  own  practice,  and  he 
may  therefore  say,  "  Suppose  my  case  is  not  singular, 
but  an  average,  as  there  is  reason  to  suppose  it  is,  what 
is  the  state  of  the  Christian  church?"  And  what  will 
that  individual  find  to  be  the  case  with  himself?  How 
much  time  in  each  day  does  he  devote  to  this  most  incum- 
bent, most  momentous  duty,  to  pray  for  his  conduct  in 
life,  his  salvation,  his  family,  his  church,  the  world? 
How  much,  as  compared  with  other  things  ?  With  his 
relaxation  from  business,  his  recreation,  the  time  he  gives 
to  the  newspaper,  or  even  to  absolute  vacuity  ?  Is  there 
not  a  frequent  reluctance  to  the  duty  ?  Is  it  not  often 
performed  rather  from  a  haunting  sense  of  duty,  and  to 
silence  the  accusations  of  conscience,  than  from  any 
attractions  sweet  and  irresistible,  coming  over  the  heart 
from  the  throne  of  grace  ?  Is  there  not  a  habit  of  letting 
'Come  first  to  be  attended  to,  any  inferior  thing  that  may 
oiFer  itself,  and  a  disposition  to  postpone  the  exercise  to  a 
more  convenient  time,  and  a  more  appropriate  frame  ? 
Is  there  no  habit  of  "  making  social  or  domestic  prayer  a 
partial  excuse  for  omitting  the  private  exercise  ;  a  kind  of 
acquittance,  the  share  of  a  social  exercise  being  reckoned 
enough  for  the  whole  tribute  of  an  individual,  as  if  a 
social  tribute  were  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  an  exemp- 
tion for  each  individual  ?"  Now,  how  much  prayer,  such 
as  really  deserves  the  name,  is  going  up  to  heaven  con- 
tinually from  the  church,  and  for  it  ?  Surely,  surely,  we 
need  far  more,  and  must  have  far  more,  if  the  Spirit  shall 
come  down  in  plentitude  and  power,  to  make  us  more 
earnest  in  religion. 

VI,  Special  seasons  of  devotion,  instituted  with  imme- 
diate reference  to  the  revival  and  increase  of  religion,  are 
adapted  to  promote  this  object,  and  are,  therefore,  of  con- 
siderable importance.  This  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most 
difficult  practical  subjects  of  the  present  volume,  and  will 
require  the  greatest  caution  in  treating  it.  A  prejudice, 
founded  partly  on  observation,  and  partly  upon  report, 
but  rarely  upon  experience,  against  any  efforts  beyond 


AN    EARNEST    CHURCH.  275 

the  ordinary  course  of  minister'al  and  pastoral  labor, 
exists  in  many  minds ;  and  if  some  instances  of  revival 
efforts  vi^ere  made  the  example  or  the  standard  of  what 
is  here  meant  by  special  services,  they  are  to  be  dreaded 
and  deprecated  by  every  lover  of  sobriety  of  mind,  and 
every  friend  to  the  credit  of  our  holy  religion.  Scenes 
more  resembling  Bedlam,  than  the  solemnities  of  the 
house  of  God,  have  been  set  forth  under  the  name  of 
"  revival  meetings,"  to  the  disgust  of  the  w^ise,  the  grief 
of  the  good,  and  the  scandal  of  the  bad.  Nor  is  it  any 
justification  of  such  frantic  orgies,  to  allege  that  souls 
have  been  converted.  Very  likely.  But  how  many  have 
imbibed  invincible  prejudice  against  all  religion,  how 
many  more,  after  the  excitement  has  passed  off,  have 
become  increasingly  hardened,  and  how  many  have 
received  a  distaste  for  the  ordinary  and  more  sober  minis- 
trations qf  the  gospel !  There  is,  no  doubt,  a  power  in  the 
eternal  truths  of  the  Word  of  God,  that  will  exert  itself, 
under  God's  Spirit,  in  defiance  of  all  the  revolting  and  in- 
harmonious adjuncts  with  which  they  may  be  sometimes 
associated.  It  is  not,  perhaps,  to  be  questioned,  that  if 
some  of  the  monstrosities  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  such, 
for  instance,  as  dramatic  exhibitions  of  the  Saviour's  pas- 
sion, were  united  by  some  popular  and  energetic  preacher 
of  the  gospel,  with  a  vivid  appeal  to  the  conscience,  in 
the  statement  of  evangelical  truths,  souls  might  be  con- 
verted from  the  error  of  their  ways ;  but  would  this 
authorize  and  justify  us,  in  representing  the  scenes  of 
Calvary  upon  a  stage?  We  eschew  then,  at  once,  and 
forever,  all  attempts  at  revival  which  offend  against  the 
majesty  and  sobriety  of  divine  truth,  —  which  violate  the 
proprieties  of  public  worship  —  produce  an  excitement  of 
the  passions  that  amounts  to  a  kind  of  mental  intoxica- 
tion—  and  render  tame,  tasteless,  and  insipid,  the  ordi- 
nary ministrations  of  the  sanctuary. 

But  is  there  no  middle  course  between  wild  extrava- 
gance and  dull  formality  1  Between  the  performances  of 
the  actor,  and  the  somnolence  of  the  sluggard  1  Shall 
no  stimulating  treatment  be  adopted  by  a  judicious  phy- 
sician with  a  collapsed  patient,  because  some  ignorant 
quacks  have  carried  it  so  far  as  to  bring  on  epilepsy  or 


276  MEANS    TO    OBTAIN 

madness?  I  know  it  is  the  opinion  of  many,  t»'at  all 
attempts  to  keep  up,  or  to  increase,  the  spirit  (f  vital 
godhness  in  the  church,  and  to  multiply  conversi:ins,  by 
special  services,  tend  to  relax,  on  the  part  of  both  minis- 
ters and  their  flocks,  their  diligence  in  the  use  of  such  as 
are  stated  ;  and  to  teach  them  to  rely  on  occasional  and 
spasmodic  exertions,  rather  than  on  such  as  are  habitual. 
Our  object,  they  say,  should  be  to  produce  a  constant  and 
well-sustained  earnestness,  rather  than  a  fitful  and  tran- 
sient one  ;  just  as,  in  regard  to  our  bodies,  our  aim  is 
habitually  to  keep  up  robust  health,  rather  than  to  neg- 
lect it,  and  trust  to  occasional  and  extraordinary  means 
for  restoring  it.  This  is  true.  But  surely  if,  in  the 
latter  case,  it  be  well  to  resort  to  special  means  of  cure, 
when  the  health  is  impaired,  and  the  strength  is  reduced, 
—  and  in  the  best  constitutions  this  will  sometimes  take 
place  —  it  must  be  equally  proper,  so  far  the  analogy 
holds  good,  to  follow  this  rule  in  reference  to  religion. 
In  the  best  and  the  most  watchful  Christians,  piety,  alas  I 
will  occasionally  decline  :  first  love  will  abate,  and  vital 
godliness  be  among  "  the  things  that  remain;  and  that  are 
ready  to  die."  Who  does  not  feel  this,  and  kment  it 
too  ?  Have  not  all  in  whose  soul  is  the  life  of  God,  and 
who  are  anxious  to  maintain  that  life  in  vigor,  found  it  ne- 
cessary occasionally  to  observe  special  seasons  of  examina- 
tion, humiliation,  and  prayer  ?  Is  there  a  volume  of  relig- 
ious biography  of  any  eminently  good  man  extant,  that 
does  not  give  us  an  account  of  his  days  of  fasting  and  devo- 
tion, which  he  observed  to  obtain  a  revival  of  religion  in 
his  soul  1  Is  there  a  Christian  in  real  earnestness  for 
salvation,  one  if  more  than  usual  piety,  that  does  not 
feel  it  necessary  to  add  an  occasional  season  of  devotion 
to  his  accustomed  duties,  in  order  to  recover  lost  ground, 
and  to  advance  in  the  divine  life  1  And  does  this  prac- 
tice take  him  oflT  from  his  usual  and  regular  duties  of 
meditation  and  prayer?  On  the  contrary,  does  it  not 
rather  lead  him  to  supply  defects,  to  correct  negligences, 
and  to  pursue  his  course  with  fresii  vigor  and  alacrity  ^ 
Surely,  if  this  be  the  case  with  the  individual  Christian, 
the  same  thing  may  be  affirmed  of  a  Christian  church. 
By   special  services   are  not  meant  fixed  periodical 


AN    EARNEST   CHURCH.  277 

ones,  such  as  yearly  fasts,  or  a  regular  annual  repetition 
of  continue  us  preachings ;  for  such  cease  tc  be  special, 
and  become  a  part  of  the  ordinary  means,  and  are  them- 
selves liable  to  sink  into  the  same  dulness  of  routine, 
and  deadness  of  formalism,  as  the  more  frequent  and 
ordinary  means. 

What  is  meant  by  special  services,  are  some  such 
exercises  as  the  following.  An  occasional  day  of  fast- 
ing, humiliation  and  prayer,  by  a  religious  denomination, 
to  which  all  the  churches  shall  be  invited  by  the  com- 
mittees that  manage  their  affairs,  or  which  shall  be  deter- 
mined upon  by  the  churches  themselves  at  their  general 
gathering. 

An  occasional  meeting  for  solemn  prayer  by  the  direc- 
tors of  our  public  institutions,  when  all  business  shall  be 
excluded,  and  nothing  else  done  but  invoking  the  bless- 
ing of  God  upon  their  plans,  their  councils,  and  their 
objects  ;  and  thus  a  devotional  spirit  be  infused  into  all 
their  operations.  It  is  true  they  generally  commence 
every  meeting  with  prayer,  but  who  has  not  felt  how 
perfunctorily  this  is  often  done? 

How  much  would  it  tend  to  keep  up  a  right  feeling 
and  a  fervent  spirit  in  the  ministry,  if  the  pastors  within 
a  district  cf  twenty  or  thirty  miles  diameter  were  occa- 
sionally to  meet,  and  spend  a  couple  of  days  together 
in  solemn  prayer,  unrestrained  conference,  and  mutual 
exhortation  !  What  solemn  discourse  —  what  deep  utter- 
ances of  the  heart  — what  intercommunion  of  soul  —  might 
not  then  take  place  !  As  it  now  is,  we  meet  only  for 
business,  business,  business,  till  we  return  to  our  homes, 
revived  a  little,  perhaps,  in  body,  for  the  journey,  but 
not  one  whit  better,  sometimes  even  worse,  in  our  spirit- 
ual state. 

Single  churches  could,  by  voluntary  resolution  of 
their  own,  determine  to  keep  occasionally  a  day  of  fast- 
ing, humiliation,  and  prayer.  In  the  olden  times  of  our 
forefathers,  this  was  by  no  means  uncommon  ;  but,  alas ! 
in  our  busy  day  we  find  little  time,  and  biive  less  incli- 
nation, for  such  exercises.  True  it  might  be  difficult  to 
command  a  week  day  for  such  a  purpose  ;  what  hin- 
ders, then,  that  a  Sabbath  should  not  sometimes  be  thus 


278  MEANS    TO    OBTAIN 

appropriated,  and  the  services  of  that  day  ail  be  made  to 
bear  on  the  object  ? 

Where  whole  churches  do  not  set  apart  such  reasons, 
why  may  not  a  few  of  the  members,  who  are  like-minded 
in  their  devotional  habits,  in  their  yearnings  after  a 
higher  tone  of  spiritual  feeling,  and  their  longing  for 
the  out-pouring  of  the  Spirit,  agree  together,  to  meet  at 
particular  times  for  special  prayer?  How  blessed  an 
invitation  is  it  to  issue  from  some  spiritually-minded 
Christian  to  his  fellows,  *'  Come,  let  us  set  apart  a  sea- 
son of  special  prayer  for  a  revival  of  true  piety  in  our 
church,  in  the  denomination,  and  the  whole  church  of 
God." 

But  there  is  another  kind  of  special  services,  which, 
for  the  purpose  of  conversion,  might  be  resorted  to  with 
great  advantage,  if  conducted  with  propriety  ;  I  mean 
continuous  preaching,  carried  on  for  several  successive 
days,  and  accompanied  by  earnest  prayer  on  the  part  of 
the  members  of  the  church.  As  already  intimated,  this 
plan  has  been  lamentably  abused ;  not  only  by  certain 
men,  called  "  revivalist  preachers,"  whose  outrageous 
rant,  "  pious  frauds,"  and  solemn  trickery,  have  done  so 
much  mischief,  and  have  furnished  the  lukewarm  with  an 
apology  for  formalism ;  but  by  others,  who  have  made 
such  services  a  mere  pretence  to  call  attention  to  a  par- 
tially deserted  place,  or  to  puff  an  unknown  minister 
into  notice,  till  one  almost  loathes  the  very  name  of 
"revival  meetings."  But  how  different  from  all  this 
"  bellows'  blowing,"  as  Mr.  Jay  called  it,  are  the  sober 
and  solemn  services  which  have  been,  and  still  are,  car- 
ried on  by  some  ministers,  to  call,  by  special  efforts,  the 
attention  of  the  careless  to  the  awful  verities  of  eternal 
truth  !  When  a  minister  perceives  that  little  good  seems 
to  result  fi-om  his  preaching,  that  souls  are  not  converted, 
and  that  professors  are  lukewarm  and  worldly,  is  there 
anything  contrary  to  sobriety,  to  reason,  to  revelation,  to 
the  laws  of  propriety,  or  to  the  mental  economy  of  man, 
in  determining  by  a  continuous  series  of  services,  sus- 
tained through  the  evenings  of  a  whole  week,  to  keep 
religion  before  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  rouse-  their 
slumbering  attention  to  its  '  igh  import  1     Is  this  not  per- 


AN    EARNEST    CHURCH.  279 

feclly  consonant  with  the  strictest  decorum,  with  the 
most  refined  spiritual  sensibility?  Shall  science,  shall 
politics,  shall  literature,  have  their  special  services,  and 
not  religion  1  How  likely  a  plan  is  it  to  rouse  the  minds 
of  the  careless  —  to  fix  the  thoughts  of  the  volatile  — 
to  decide  the  choice  of  the  wavering  —  and  to  enkindle  the 
ardor  of  the  lukewarm,  thus  to  carry  on  a  succession  of 
appeals  to  them  through  a  whole  week !  Keep  out 
extravagance  ;  let  there  be  no  anxious  seat,  no  vocifera- 
tion, no  extravagant  appeals  to  the  passions ;  but  only 
the  vivid,  solemn,  and  faithful  exhibition  of  the  truth. 
As  one  minister,  the  pastor,  may  not  have  strength 
enough  for  such  services,  another,  or  more  than  one, 
may  be  called  on  to  assist  him.  During  all  this  while, 
much  prayer  should  ascend  from  the  church  for  the 
divine  blessing  to  come  down  upon  such  efforts.  What 
can  be  objected  to  in  such  a  scheme?  Who  has  ever 
tried  it  without  a  blessed  result?  What,  in  fact,  were 
the  labors  of  Whitfield  and  Wesley,  yea,  what  were 
the  labors  of  apostles,  but  such  continuous  services  as 
these?  It  is  said  of  the  blessed  Paul,  he  disputed,  or, 
as  it  signifies  by  a  better  translation,  discoursed,  daily  in 
the  school  of  Tyrannus. 

What  are  we  doing  by  the  ordinary  means  ?  What 
souls  are  we  converting  to  God  by  our  regular  routine  ? 
Does  not  the  work  of  reconciliation  languish  in  our 
hands  ?  Are  not  the  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands 
perishing  at  our  doors,  and  going  down  to  the  pit  before 
our  eyes?  And  shall  we  be  contented  with  routine, 
formality,  and  custom,  in  our  way  of  saving  them  ? 
Shall  we  be  afraid  to  step  out  of  our  ordinary  course, 
even  to  pluck  sinners  as  brands  from  the  eternal  burn- 
ing? 

Shall  we  be  afraid,  lest,  by  adopting  some  new  means, 
however  little  differing  from  the  stated  services  of  the 
sanctuary,  we  shall  incur  the  charge  of  enthusiasm  in 
our  attempts  to  carry  out  the  purposes  for  which  the  Son 
of  God  expired  upon  the  cross  ?  Enthusiasm  !  I  wish 
we  better  deserved  the  charge,  and  were  more  entitled 
to  the  accusation.  Enthusiasm  !  Where  is  the  cause 
in  our  world  that  irore  deserves  or  demands  it,  in  a 


280  MEANS    TO    OBTAIN 

modified  and  chastened  meaning,  than  that  of  saving  im 
mortal  souls  from  eternal  perdition  ?  Enthusiasm  !  Bid 
the  man  who  is  snatching  his  fellow-creatures  from  the 
flames,  or  from  the  wreck,  not  to  be  an  enthusiast  in  his 
heroic  generosity,  and  the  admonition  will  be  far  more 
seasonable  and  appropriate  than  addressed  to  him  who 
steps  a  little  out  of  the  ordinary  track  to  convert  sin- 
ners from  the  error  of  their  ways,  save  souls  from  death, 
and  hide  multitudes  of  sins.  Enthusiasm  !  Carry  the 
charge,  as  upon  the  principles  of  many  of  our  bigots 
to  formalism  we  justly  may,  to  that  great  man  who  said, 
*'  If  by  any  means  I  might  save  some,  I  could  even  wish 
myself  accursed  from  Christ,  for  my  brethren,  my  kins- 
men according  to  the  flesh."  0,  were  that  man  again 
in  our  world,  what  would  he  think,  or  what  would  he 
say,  of  the  fastidiousness  of  some  of  our  ministers  and 
churches,  about  the  propriety  of  stepping  ever  so  little 
out  of  the  ordinary  way  of  conducting  the  services  of 
religion  !  The  world  is  perishing  —  the  great  masses  of 
our  population  are  sinking  more  and  more  under  the 
power  of  infidelity  and  irreligion  ;  and  we  stand  by  ask- 
ing what  can  be  done,  and  are  afraid  to  try  any  new 
scheme  of  action  for  their  salvation,  however  discreet  or 
well  adapted,  lest  we  should  discompose  the  dress,  or 
rufile  the  fringes,  of  our  habits  of  ecclesiastical  order ; 
as  if  it  were  better  that  men  should  go  down  unobstruct- 
ed to  the  pit,  than  that  our  formalism  should  be  in  the 
least  disturbed,  for  their  salvation  ! 

On  writing  for  his  opinion  on  this  subject  to  one  whom 
God  has  honored  and  blessed  in  his  efforts,  and  who  is 
one  of  the  most  devout  and  sober-minded  of  our  brethren, 
he  thus  replies  to  my  inquiries  :  "I  think  that,  con- 
sidering the  state  of  the  churches  generally,  there  is  a 
call  for  something  of  this  kind.  The  ministers  are 
unsettled,  which  they  would  not  be  if  they  were  doing 
good.  I  am  sorry  to  say,  also,  the  churches  are  often 
dissatisfied  with  their  ministers,  an  evil  which  would  be 
obviated  were  more  good  accomplished.  It  appears  to 
me  that  special  efforts,  if  wisely  conducted,  would  be 
productive  of  much  benefit ;  first  of  all,  to  the  ministers 
themselves,  in  teaching  them  to  understand  better  the 


AN    EARNEST    CHURCH.  281 

naturo  of  the  work  in  which  they  are  engaged.  They 
would  be  led  to  know  more  how  to  aim  at  thp  conver- 
sion of  sinners  in  their  preaching.  Secondly,  it  would 
do  much  good  to  the  churches,  in  arousing  them  to  a 
better  conception  of  their  calling  and  duty,  and  they 
would  acquire  more  of  the  taste  for  seeing  good  done, 
which  would  render  them  discontented  with  the  desola- 
tion around  them,  and  constrain  them  to  give  themselves 
more  to  prayer  for  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit.  When 
a  church  has  once  witnessed  a  season  of  revival,  it  is 
much  more  likely  to  witness  the  same  again  and  again, 
than  one  that  knows  nothing  of  it  but  by  hearsay. 
Thirdly,  the  world  around  the  church  where  the  special 
effort  is  made  will  often  receive  an  impression,  the  effects 
of  which  are  visible  for  many  years.  Thoughts  are  first 
started  in  the  mind  which  are  not  for  long  after  matured 
into  conversion.  This  I  look  upon  as  the  greatest  of  all 
the  benefits  derived  from  special  efforts.  A  leaveji  is 
cast  into  the  community,  which  makes  the  regular 
preaching  of  the  gospel  afterwards  much  more  efficacious. 
I  am  sure  this  was  the  case  at  C — ,  and  I  have  reason 
to  believe  it  has  been  the  case  at  other  places  also." 

This  is  the  testimony  of  reason  and  experience,  and 
cannot  be  gainsaid.  Similar  testimony  is  borne  by  all 
who  have  had  the  courage  to  institute  such  services,  the 
fervor  necessary  for  their  efficiency,  and  the  discretion 
requisite  to  conduct  them  with  propriety. 

"VII.  If  we  would  have  an  increase  of  earnest  religion, 
we  must  expect  it,  and  look  for  it.  There  must  be  a 
frame  of  mind  the  opposite  of  despondency.  We  must 
not  conclude  that  even  in  this  age  of  worldliness,  the 
thing  is  impossible.  There  is  enough  of  truth  in  the 
promise,  and  power  in  the  Spirit  of  God,  to  accomplish 
this  great  achievement,  and  raise  the  church  out  of  its 
comparatively  low  condition,  into  a  much  loftier  elevation 
of  piety  and  devotedness,  if  we  have  but  faith  to  receive 
the  blessing.  This  is  what  we  want  —  a  faith  equal  to 
the  promise  of  God.  If  we  could  bring  up  our  minds  to 
the  point  of  expectation,  we  should  soon  reach  that  of 
possession.  We  have  not,  because  we  ask  not :  and  we 
24 


282         MEANS  TO  OBTAIN  AN  EARNEST  CHURCH. 

ask  not,  because  we  exptct  not.  Let  us  only  intensely 
long,  and  earnestly  pray,  and  diligently  labor —  and  then 
we  are  warranted  to  expect.  When  did  God  ever  excite 
expectation  of  this  kind,  and  not  fulfil  it  1  There  is  every- 
thing to  warrant  expectation.  God  is  able  to  help  us,  and 
give  us  any  measure  of  grace  we  need.  Nothing  is  too 
hard  for  the  Lord.  This  heis  been  the  hope  and  triumph 
of  the  church  in  every  age.  He  can  open  the  heavens, 
and  pour  down  salvation.  He  can  make  the  wilderness 
like  Eden,  and  the  desert  like  the  garden  of  the  Lord  ! 
When  we  undertake  anything  for  the  revival  of  religion, 
and  the  cause  of  the  Redeemer,  little  as  our  encourage- 
ments may  be  from  any  other  quarter,  we  cannot  expeci 
too  much  from  God.  We  may  take  hope /row  the  nature 
of  the  object  we  are  pursuing.  What  is  it  we  are  looking 
for?  Religion  is  God's  own  cause  in  our  world.  It 
is  the  only  cause  which  is  his  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the 
word.  It  is  his  highest  and  noblest  production  upon 
earth  —  that  in  which  he  has  a  deeper  interest,  and  on 
which  his  heart  is  more  set,  than  any  other.  In  our 
attempts  to  promote  an  increase  of  religion,  we  may 
encourage  expectation  from  the  fact  that  God  has  ever 
blessed  the  attempts  of  others.  When  and  where  did  it 
ever  fail  ?  No,  the  whole  history  of  the  church  does  not 
furnish  a  single  instance  of  united,  vigorous,  humble,  and 
believing  prayer,  labor,  and  expectation,  being  disap- 
pointed. Our  own  experience,  limited  as  it  is,  sustains 
our  hope.  Did  we  ever  yet  put  forth  our  energies,  in 
fervent  supplication  and  rigid  mortification,  and  not  find  a 
perceptible  advance  in  spiritual  religion  1  Did  we  ever 
yet  spend  an  extraordinary  season  of  humiliation  and 
prayer,  without  a  consciousness  of  a  more  intense  reality 
in  our  religion  ? 

O  Christians  !  throw  off  your  despondency  then  ;  adopt 
the  noble  maxim  of  the  immortal  Carey  :  attempt  great 
things  —  expect  great  things.  Granting  that  there  is  much 
in  the  church  that  is  dehghtful  to  contemplate,  is  it  what 
it  ought  to  be  —  what  it  might  be  ■?  Abandon  the  idea 
that  it  never  can  be  better.  Reject  the  suggestion  that 
it  is  as  holy,  spiritual,  and  heavenly-minded  as  it  can  ev«r 


x»iiL.LENNIAL   STATE    OF   THE    CHURCH.  283 

expect  to  be  in  such  an  age  and  such  a  country  as  this  ; 
that  it  is  so  environed  with  influences  hostile  to  the  spirit  of 
piety,  that  it  is  as  high  in  devotion  as  it  can  be  expected 
to  be.  or  need  be.  Do  you  say  this  cf  yourselves  1  Do 
you  make  these  excuses  for  yourselves  f  Are  you  all  you 
can  be  expected  to  be,  or  need  be  ?  Are  you  reconciled 
to  a  lukewarm  state  of  devotion,  a  low  state  of  piety, 
under  the  soporific,  unworthy,  unbelieving  notion,  that 
nothing  better  is  to  be  expected,  and  that  God  looks  for 
nothing  better/?  If  you  are,  your  religion  altogether  is 
to  be  suspected.  If  not,  then  be  not  satisfied  with  the 
condition  of  the  church.  God  has  better  things  in  store 
for  us,  if  we  will  but  have  them.  Let  us  only  be  earnest 
in  prayer  —  in  faith — in  labor — and  in  hope,  and  who 
can  tell  but  the  day  of  blessing  is  near?  Already  I  seem 
to  hear  "  the  sound  of  abundance  of  rain."  While  bow- 
in  o-  your  knees,  like  the  prophet  on  the  top  of  Carmel, 
soiiie  herald  of  mercy  may  tell  you  of  "  a  little  cloud 
that  ariseth  from  the  sea,"  which,  though  now  no  bigger 
than  a  man's  hand,  may  soon  cover  the  heavens,  and 
pour  down  the  refreshing  shower  ! 


CHAPTER   XI. 

CONCLUSION. THE  MILLENNIAL  STATE   OF  THE  CHURCH. 

In  the  foregoing  pages  we  have  glanced  at  the  state  of  the 
Christian  church  from  its  commencement  to  the  present 
time ;  and  we  have  seen  the  imperfections  and  corruptions 
♦which,  in  its  best  condition,  have  hitherto  weakened  its 
strength,  impaired  its  beauty,  hmited  its  extent,  and  hin- 
dered its  usefulness.  An  interesting  inquiry  now  presents 
itself,  '•'■  Will  it  be  always  thus,  till  it  is  swallowed  up  of  life, 
glory,  and  immortality?  Is  there  no  hope  that  it  will  arise 
from  the  earth,  shake  off  the  dust,  put  on  its  beautiful  gar- 
ments, and  array  itself  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband  ?'' 
It  were  a  melancholy  thing,  both  for  herself  and  the  world, 
if  there  were  no  such  expectation  It  were  a  painful  thing 
to  look  down  the  ^'•al     f  time,  and  see  the  same  divisions, 


284  THE    MILLENNIAL    STATE 

errors,  worldliness,  and  feebleness,  ever  within  the  church ; 
the  same  Paganism,  Moliammedanism,  Judaism,  and  Popery, 
around  it ;  and  no  visions  of  better  things  advancing  to 
supplant  these  scenes  of  the  moral  world.  If  what  we  have 
seen,  or  read,  is  all  that  Christianity  is  to  do  for  our  race — ' 
if  the  M^orld  is  never  to  be  converted  to  Christ,  nor  the 
church  to  be  brought  into  a  nearer  conformity  to  the  New 
Testament  —  then  would  infidelity  triumph,  and  exultingly 
affirm  that  the  Son  of  God  had  not  destroyed  the  works  of 
the  devil  —  that  the  gospel  had  been  partially,  and  to  a  great 
extent,  a  failure,  and  therefore  was  a  fable.  We  have  r 
apprehension  that  such  a  ground  of  triumph  will  ever  ue 
given  lo  the  enemies  of  our  faith.  A  brighter  era  is  des- 
tined to  arrive ;  a  golden  age  is  to  dawn  upon  us,  when  the 
predictions  of  prophets,  and  the  descriptions  of  apostles,  are 
all  to  be  fulfilled,  and  the  earth  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of 
the  Lord. 

If,  as  some  eminent  commentators  suppose,  the  last  two 
chapters  of  the  book  of  the  Revelation  are  descriptive  of 
some  happy  state  of  the  church  of  Christ  on  earth,  and  not 
of  its  celestial  state,  what  a  scene  opens  through  the  vista 
of  time  to  the  eye  of  faith  ;  what  a  landscape  of  surpassing 
glory,  for  our  dark,  disordered  world,  expands  upon  the 
Christian,  as  from  the  mount  of  promise  he  surveys  the 
promised  land !  What  a  state  mil  the  church  attain  to, 
when  "  The  nations  of  them  which  are  saved  shall  walk  in 
the  light  of  it ;  and  the  kings  of  the  earth  do  bring  their 
glory  and  honor  into  it ;  and  the  gates  shall  not  be  shut  at 
all  by  day,  for  there  shall  be  no  night  there  ;  and  they  shall 
bring  the  glory  and  honor  of  the  nations  into  it !  "  Amidst 
what  united  joys  of  angels  and  of  men  will  "  the  holy  city, 
new  Jerusalem,  be  seen  coming  down  from  God  out  of 
heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband ! " 
How  welcome  will  be  the  great  voice  out  of  heaven,  saying, 
•'Behold,  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and  he  will 
dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall  be  his  people,  and  God  him- 
self shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their  God !  " 

Yes,  glorious  things  are  spoken  of  thee,  0  city  of  God, 
v/hich,  like  Moses,  we  may  now  behold  in  the  distance :  — 

First  of  all,  there  is  preservation.  Hear,  0  Zion,  the  word 
-if  thy  God,  and  rejoice  for  thy  consolation:  "No  weapon 
hat  is  formed  against  thee  shall  prosper,  and  every  tongue 
'hat  shall  rise  against  thee  in  judgment  shalt  thou  condemn. 


OF    THE    CHURCH.  2S5 

The  Lord  thy  God,  in  the  midst  of  thee,  is  mighty ;  He 
shall  be  a  wall  of  fire  round  about  thee,  and  the  glory  in 
the  midst  of  thee."  Yes,  the  chui'ch  is  safe,  though  nothing 
else  is.  Human  systems  of  rehgion,  of  government,  of  phi- 
losophy, that  are  opposed  to  the  principles  of  revelation,  like 
the  billows  which  roll  with  ocean's  force  against  a  rock,  shall 
successively  dash  and  utterly  dissolve.  So  it  ever  has  been  ; 
so  it  ever  will  be;  till  the  last  foe  shall  be  vanquished. 
Let  infidehty  utter  its  blasphemies,  and  false  philosophy  its 
sophistries,  and  popery  its  anathemas  —  we  exultingly  re- 
peat, ''The  church  is  safe."  Amidst  the  wreck  of  em- 
pires, and  the  subversion  of  thrones,  she  rises  fresh  in  beauty 
and  in  might,  with  celestial  glory  beaming  around  her,  and 
her  enemies  fleeing  before  her.  Let  no  man's  heart  trem- 
ble for  fear  ;  no  man's  brow  gather  gloom ;  no  man's  tongue 
utter  despondency.  The  celestial  bark  may  be  amidst  the 
billows,  while  the  tempest  sweeps  along  the  deep,  but  Jeho- 
vah Jesus  is  on  board,  and  she  cannot  be  lost  unless  the 
pilot  perish.  But  we  have  nothing  to  fear.  Jesus  lives  ibr- 
evermore,  and  is  Head  over  all  things  to  his  church.  In  its 
lowest  state,  he  has  never  forsaken  her.  He  never  will. 
His  honor  is  identified  with  her  final  triumph.  Every  harp 
should  therefore  be  snatched  from  the  willows  —  new  joys 
should  be  felt,  and  new  anthems  sung,  by  all  the  assem- 
blies of  the  saints ;  and  amidst  the  convulsions  of  every 
age,  be  this  the  song  of  the  universal  church :  "  God  is  our 
refuge  and  strength,  a  very  present  help  in  trouble.  There- 
fore will  not  we  fear  though  the  earth  be  removed,  and 
though  the  mountains  be  carried  into  the  midst  of  the  sea ; 
though  the  waters  thereof  roar  and  be  troubled  ;  though  the 
mountains  shake  with  the  swelling  thereof.  God  is  in  the 
midst  of  her ;  she  shall  not  be  moved.  God  shall  help  her, 
and  that  right  early." 

But  blessed  as  it  is  to  know  that  immutable  truth  and 
omnipotent  power  guarantee  the  continitance  of  the  church, 
this  is  the  least  and  lowest  of  her  hopes.  Improveme?it  in 
her  spiritual  condition  is  another  thing  which  the  church  is 
authorized  to  expect.  The  earnestness  now  desiderated  will 
be  given  to  her.  Even  before  she  shall  assume  her  celes- 
-lal  form,  and  be  presented  a  glorious  church,  not  having 
spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing,  her  spots  will  not  be  so 
dark,  nor  her  \\Tinkles  so  deep,  nor  her  blemishes  so  obvi- 
ous, as  they  now  are.  She  will  appear,  even  upi>r  »ai^'i, 
24* 


286  THE    MILLENNIAL   STATE 

invested  with  something  of  celestial  radiance  and  beauty. 
It  is  impossible  even  superficially  to  study  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  also  the  pages  of  ecclesiastical  history,  and  not 
be  entirely  convinced  that  Christianity  has  never  yet  been 
fully  developed  as  it  might  be  expected  would  be  done  upon 
earth,  in  the  character  and  conduct  of  the  churc; .  There 
surely  must  be  an  age  and  a  state  of  her  history,  when  this 
shall  be  done,  and  when  she  shall  not  only  be,  but  shall 
appear  to  be,  cast  in  the  very  mould  of  the  inspired  vol- 
ume —  when  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  the  twelfth  chapter 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  and  the  thirteenth  chapter  of 
the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  and  the  more  eminently 
devout  parts  of  all  the  other  epistles,  shall  not  only  be  the 
law,  but  also  the  practice,  of  Cliristians,  and  the  Bible  and 
the  church  shall  exactly  agree  —  when  every  professor  of 
religion  shall  be  a  living  exhibition  of  faith,  hope,  love,  in 
all  their  power  and  beauty  —  when,  in  short,  the  spiritual 
shEill  so  far  predominate  over  the  carnal,  the  divine  over  the 
human,  the  heavenly  over  the  earthly,  and  the  eternal  over 
the  temporal,  that  the  communion  of  the  faithful  shall  ap- 
pear like  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband,  and  just  ready 
for  the  celebration  of  the  nuptial  ceremonies.  Practical 
Christianity  will  not  then  appear,  as  it  now  too  often  does, 
as  a  feeble  exotic  withering  in  an  uncongenial  clime,  but  as 
a  plant  of  paradise,  exhibiting  something  of  its  native  beau- 
ty, and  shedding,  though  not  wasting,  its  fragrance  even  on 
this  desert  air.  All  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  will  be  seen  in 
rich  abundance  and  full  maturity.  The  workmanship  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  will  be  manifested,  not  only  in  the  outline 
of  the  renewed  mind,  but  in  all  the  minute  and  delicate 
touches  of  Christian  character.  The  image  of  God  will  he 
impressed  upon  the  outer  and  visible  man,  M'hile  the  mind 
of  Christ  vAW  fill  the  inner  and  hidden  man  of  the  hean. 
Such  is  to  be  the  church  of  the  latter  day ;  when  the  wintry 
season  shall  pass  off,  and  be  followed  by  a  scene  which  shall 
exhibit,  combined  in  one,  the  appropriate  beauties  of  each 
season,  —  all  the  energies  of  spring  the  glow  of  summer,  and 
the  luxuriance  of  autumn. 

Union,  love,  and  harmony  shall  then  characterize  the  New 
Je>"usalem,  the  city  of  the  living  God.  The  prayer  of  the 
divine  Redeemer,  that  his  people  may  be  one,  even  as  he 
and  the  Father  are  one,  shall  be  answered  —  the  c-chorta- 
tions  of  the  apostle,  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  spirit  .i\  the 


OF    THE    CHURCH.  287 

Dond  of  peace,  shall  be  complied  A\ith  —  the  object,  so  long 
lost,  so  ardently  desired,  so  mistakenly  £«ught  after,  shall 
be  restored,  and  the  divided  church  become  one  again.  The 
din  of  controvers)^  shall  cease  with  the  din  of  arms  —  the 
peace  that  shall  prevail  in  the  world  shall  be  but  an  emblem 
of  the  tranquillity  which  pervades  the  church  —  and  the 
pen  of  tlie  polemic  shall  be  laid  up  in  the  museum  of  the 
antiquarian,  with  the  sword  of  war.  The  spirit  of  division 
will  be  healed,  not  by  legal  restraints  or  angry  controversy ; 
nor  will  an  angel  descend  to  give  a  sanatory  virtue  to  the 
troubled  waters  of  strife  ;  but  this  disease  will  be  cured  by 
a  copious  effusion  of  the  Spirit  of  God  upon  the  hostile  par- 
ties —  by  the  diffusion  of  a  larger  degree  of  vital  religion  — 
by  drawing  men  from  human  systems  to  the  fountain  of 
Scripture,  there  to  purify  their  much  abused  vision  from  the 
scales  of  error  and  prejudice  —  by  causing  them  not  only  to 
profess,  but  to  feel,  that  love  is  the  essence  of  Christianity, 
and  all  beside  but  ''  the  earthly  attire  which  she  will  throw 
off  as  she  steps  across  the  threshold  of  eternity,  to  enter  the 
temple  of  God."  Illustrious  era!  How  many  hearts,  sad- 
dened by  the  divisions  of  the  visible  church,  are  sighing  for 
thine  advent,  and  how  many  sons  of  peace  are  lifting  up 
their  aspirations  to  Him  that  ordereth  the  times  and  the  sea- 
sons, saying,  "  Come  quickly ! "  Thine  it  is  to  heal  the 
matricidal  wounds  inflicted  by  her  own  children  on  the 
peace  of  Zion.  Thine,  not  only  to  repress  the  bitter  words, 
and  still  more  bitter  feelings,  and  to  expel  the  envies  and 
the  jealousies  occasioned  by  the  barriers  of  sectarian  zeal, 
but  to  remove  the  very  barriers  themselves,  and  bring  into 
cue  fold,  under  one  shepherd,  that  precious  flock  of  Christ, 
which  during  the  dark  and  cloudy  day  that  has  come  upon 
us,  has  been  scattered  upon  the  mountains  and  upon  every 
high  hill.  Thine  it  is  to  close  the  long  reign  of  malice  and 
hate,  to  which  our  earth  has  been  subjected  ever  since  the 
hour  of  the  fall,  and  to  give  to  it  the  nearest  resemblance  to 
heaven  it  ever  can  have  below,  in  the  universal  dominion 
of  love'  Hasten,  0  Saviour,  this  thy  brightest  triumph! 
All  creatures  groan  for  thy  coming,  while  thy  church  cries, 
'•Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly!" 

But  even  this  is  not  all  that  awaits  the  church  on  earth, 
for  she  is  assured  of  increase,  triumph,  and  vniversal  domin- 
ion. She  is  not  always  to  be  shut  up  within  her  present 
narrow  limits,  a  little  band,  scorned  by  pride,  oppressed  by 


288  THE    MILLENNIAL    STATE 

power ;  the  circumference  of  the  globe  is  to  be  the  circle  of 
her  domain,  and  all  nations  are  to  be  her  subjects.  The 
Lord  shall  arise  upon  thee,  "  0  thou  afflicted,  tossed  with 
tempest,  and  not  comforted."  '•'  The  Gentiles  shall  see  thy 
righteousness,  and  all  kings  thy  glory.  Lift  up  thine  eyes 
round  about,  and  see  ;  all  they  gather  themselves  together, 
they  come  to  thee ;  thy  sons  shall  come  from  afar,  and  thy 
daughters  shall  be  nursed  at  thy  side.  Then  thou  shall  see 
and  flow  together,  and  thy  heart  shall  fear,  and  be  enlarged, 
because  the  abundance  of  the  sea  shall  be  converted  unto 
thee,  the  forces  of  the  Gentiles  shall  come  unto  thee."  A 
thousand  such  promises  as  these,  though  partially  fulfilled 
by  the  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God.  and  the  setting  up  of 
his  kingdom  in  the  world,  —  await  their  consummation  in 
the  latter  day  glory.  Then  shall  God  utterly  aboUsh  the 
idols  of  every  land.  ''I  have  sworn  by  myself,"  says  He. 
"the  word  is  gone  out  of  my  mouth  in  righteousness,  and 
shall  not  return  ;  that  unto  me  every  knee  shall  boAv,  every 
tongue  shall  swear."  Thus  the  oath  of  God  is  pledged  to 
the  subversion  of  everything  that  opposeth  itself  to  him. 
Paganism,  that  blood-stained,  hydra-headed  monster  of 
impiety,  cruelty,  and  lust,  shall  be  slain  to  rise  no  more. 
Mohammedanism,  that  audacious  lie,  propagated  by  the 
scimitar,  and  kept  up  only  by  the  means  that  estabhshed  it 
in  the  earth,  shall  be  extenninated  —  and  the  Koran  be 
destroyed  by  the  Bible,  and  the  crescent  disappear  forever 
in  the  blaze  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness.  Then  shall  the 
vail  fall  from  the  heart  of  the  Jew,  the  blindness  which  hath 
happened  unto  Israel  be  done  away,  and  the  outcasts  of 
Judea,  still  beloved  for  their  fathers'  sake,  shall  "  come  in 
with  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles."  The  man  of  sin  shall 
be  cut  off;  the  mighty  angel  shall  take  the  mill-stone,  and 
dashing  ii  into  the  sea,  shall  utter  the  shout,  '•  Babylon  the 
great  is  fallen,  is  fallen ;"  while  the  loud  voice  of  much 
people  shad  reply,  "  Alleluia  ;  salvation,  and  glory,  and 
honor,  and  power,  unto  the  Lord  our  God ;  for  true  and 
righteous  are  his  judgments ;  for  he  hath  judged  the  great 
whore,  which  did  corrupt  the  earth  with  her  fornication,  and 
hath  avenged  the  blood  of  his  servants  at  her  hand."  The 
sabbath  of  our  world  shall  have  arrived.  The  worship  of 
Jehovah  shall  be  universal.  The  Name  which  is  above 
every  name  shall  be  heard  on  every  plain,  and  echoed  from 
every  mountain.    The  Bible  shall  be  in  every  hand,  a  house 


OF    THE    CHURCH.  289 

of  prayer  in  every  village,  and  an  altar  for  God  in  every 
habitation.  The  groans  of  creation  shal'  be  lost  amidst  the 
songs  of  salvation,  and  this  vale  of  teaifj,  even  to  its  dark- 
est nook  and  deepest  recess,  be  irradiated  with  the  suc'rhine 
of  joy  and  praise.  Trie  throne  of  tyranny,  cemented  ty 
blood,  and  occupied  by  oppression,  shall  be  overturned,  and 
the  vine  and  iir  tree  overshadow  the  seat,  and  yield  the 
fruit,  of  liberty,  planted  in  its  place.  Slavery,  that  veriest 
type  of  selfishness,  cruelty,  and  lawless  power,  shall  be 
abolished,  as  one  of  the  greatest  crimes  and  direst  curses  of 
humanity.  The  Prince  of  Peace,  whose  throne  is  forevei 
and  ever,  "  shall  judge  among  the  nations,  and  shall  rebuke 
many  people  j  and  they  shall  beat  their  swords  into  plough- 
shares, and  their  spears  into  pruning  hooks ;  nation  shall 
not  lift  up  sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn  the 
art  of  war  any  more."  Commerce  shall  be  purified  from 
its  cupidity  —  legislation  from  its  injustice  —  literature  from 
its  pride  —  and  philosophy  from  its  scepticism.  The  principles 
of  Christianity  shall  permeate  everything,  and  leaven  the 
whole  mass  of  society  with  the  spirit  of  that  kingdom, 
"  which  is  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy,  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 
Then  will  be  realized  all  the  glowing  descriptions  contained 
in  the  chapters  of  Revelation,  to  which  we  have  already 
alluded,  and  men,  and  angels,  and  God  himself,  rejoice  over 
"  the  new  heavens  and  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth  right- 
eousness." 

How  many  centuries  shall  roll  before  this  blessed  era  of 
harmonized,  sanctified  humanity  shall  arrive  —  how  much 
more  of  its  history  our  world  is  to  spend  in  sin  and  rebel- 
lion, and  in  groans  and  tears,  it  is  not  for  any  of  us  to  say. 
Some  imagine  they  hear  the  clocks  of  prophecy  and  provi- 
dence both  set  in  harmony  to  the  divine  decree,  striking  the 
eleventh  hour.  I  am  not  so  skilled  in  prophetical  arithme- 
tic, or  mystic  symbols  ;  <'  it  is  not  for  me  to  know  the  times 
and  the  season^,  which  the  Father  hath  put  in  his  own 
power  ;"  and  I  am  content  with  the  promise  and  the  hope, 
that  the  time  is  coming,  when  "  the  kingdoms  of  the  world 
shall  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  God  and  of  his  Christ." 

What  vials  of  wrath  have  yet  to  be  exhausted  upon  the 
world,  or  through  what  tribulations  the  church  has  yet  to 
pass  on  her  way  to  her  millennial,  and  to  her  triumphal 
state,  it  is  not  for  us  even  to  conjecture.  Perhaps  there  are 
conflicts  for  her  to  endure,  of  which  she  is  now  happily 


290  THE    MIL'^ENNIAL    STATE 

ignorant,  but  for  which,  however  severe,  the  grace  tha 
Cometh  from  above  wall  pepare  her.  Still,  she  vmat  be  vic- 
torious, for  hers  is  the  cause  of  God.  Yes,  Christians,  the 
days  roll  on,  when  "  the  shout  of  the  isles  shall  swell  the 
thunder  of  the  continent ;  when  the  Thames  and  the  Dan- 
ube, when  the  Tiber  and  the  Rhine,  shall  call  upon  the 
Euphrates,  the  Ganges,  and  the  Nile ;  and  the  loud  concert 
shall  be  joined  by  the  Hudson,  the  Mississippi,  and  the 
Amazon,  singing  with  one  heart  and  one  voice,  '  Alleluia ! 
Salvation !     The  Lord  God  Omnipotent  reigneth !'  " 

Followers  of  the  Lamb,  professors  of  Christianity,  friends 
of  your  species  —  survey  that  wondrous  scene,  gaze  upon 
that  enchanting  panorama,  no  mere  picture  of  a  fervid  im- 
agination, but  sketched  by  the  pencil  of  a  divine  hand,  as 
of  something  which  the  resources  and  honor  of  God  are 
pledged  to  render  a  glorious  reality !  Look  at  it,  I  say  —  a 
world  converted  from  every  error  that  blinds  the  judgment  — 
every  passion  that  corrupts  the  heart  —  every  vice  that  de- 
grades the  character  —  and  every  curse  that  damns  the 
soul  —  to  everything  that  purifies,  exalts,  and  saves  its  mis- 
erable inhabitants;  and  that  by  a  power  which  subdues 
their  understanding  to  truth  —  their  habits  to  rectitude  — 
and  their  hearts  to  happiness.  If  any  dark  ground  be 
needed  to  draw  out  into  more  impressive  and  attractive 
beauty  this  age  of  the  future  —  if  anything  more  than  the 
contemplation  of  it,  apart  and  by  itself,  be  requisite  to  fix 
your  attention,  kindle  your  enthusiasm,  and  engage  your 
exertions  —  compare  it  with  the  world's  past  history,  and 
its  present  aspect —  "  Professing  themselves  to  be  wise,  they 
became  fools,  and  changed  the  glory  of  the  incorruptible 
God  into  an  image  made  like  to  corruptible  man,  and  to 
birds,  and  four-footed  beasts,  and  creeping  things.  Where- 
fore God  also  gave  them  up  to  uncleanness,  through  the 
lusts  of  their  own  hearts,  to  dishonor  their  own  bodies  be- 
tween themselves ;  who  changed  the  truth  of  God  into  a 
lie,  and  worshipped  and  served  the  creature  more  than  the 
Creator,  who  is  blessed  lorever.  Amen.  And  as  they  did 
not  like  to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge,  God  gave  them 
over  to  a  reprobate  mind,  to  do  those  things  which  are  not 
convenient ;  being  filled  with  al  unrighteousness,  fornica 
tjon,  wickedness,  covetousness,  iiictliciousness.  full  of  envy, 
debate,  deceit,  malignity,  whisperers,  backbiters,  haters  of 
God,  despiteful,  proud,  boasters,  inventors  of  evil  things, 


OF    THE    CHURCH.  291 

disobedient  to  parents,  witnout  understanding,  covenant- 
breakers,  without  natural  affection,  implacable,  unmerciful." 
This  is  the  most  awful,  deeply  shaded  moral  pict)ire  ever 
drawn  by  an  inspired  or  uninspired  pen,  and  it  is  affecting 
to  consider  that  the  apostle  is  not  writing  the  annals  of  hell, 
and  the  biography  of  devils,  but  of  our  earth;  and  our  species. 
Such  was  this  world  in  the  apostle's  days,  as  the  history 
of  even  classic  Greece  and  Rome  clearly  attests  —  as  the 
disclosures  of  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii  can  corroborate. 
Such  is  the  world  in  our  days,  as  observation  and  report 
demonstrate.  Such  is  God/s  world,  such  is  our  world  —  thus 
lying  in  the  wicked  one,  clasped  firmly  in  his  arms,  polluted 
by  his  embrace,  and  ruined  by  his  arts  0  Christians,  can 
ye  bear  to  look  at  it,  rendered  a  thousand  times  mor#  loath- 
some, hideous,  and  revolting,  by  the  light  of  millennial 
glory,  which  from  the  preceding  pages  is  poured  over  it  to 
reveal  more  impressively  its  frightful  apostasy  from  God ! 
Sink  not  into  despair.  It  is  not  always  to  be  thus.  In  the 
midst  of  those  deep  sorrows  which  you  feel,  or  ought  to  feel, 
over  this  dark  and  dreadful  scene,  turn  to  the  other  side  of 
the  contrast,  and  rejoice  in  prospect  of  the  millennial  glory. 
By  whom  is  the  reign  of  truth,  holiness,  and  happiness,  to 
be  brought  on  ?  'Who  will  be  the  direct  and  chief  instru- 
ments of  accomplishing  this  greatest  of  all  happy  revolu- 
tions —  this  wondrous  spiritual  renovation  ?  Not  the  mighty 
ones  of  the  earth  —  not  monarchs,  nobles,  and  statesmen  — 
not  warriors  and  heroes  —  not  philosophers  and  scholars  — 
not  poets  and  artists  —  as  such  —  but  the  ministers  of  re- 
ligion, and  the  members  of  our  churches  —  the  men  of  faith, 
of  prayer,  and  of  zeal  —  the  men  who  have  fellowship  with 
the  Father  and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ  —  the  men  who 
are  despised  as  enthusiasts,  or  hated  as  fanatics  —  yes,  these 
are  the  men  to  whom  the  world  will  stand  indebted  for  its 
restoration  to  God,  to  happiness,  and  immortality.  What 
an  inducement,  and  what  an  obligation  to  more  intense  de- 
votedness,  are  here!  To  bring  on  this  stupendous  and 
auspicious  change  is  your  work  —  and  O,  what  work  ought 
it  to  be  to  accomplish  such  an  end !  See  here  the  object,  the 
result,  and  the  reward,  of  your  labor.  You  cannot  labor  in 
vain  —  not  a  moment  of  time  —  not  a  farthing  of  proper- 
ty —  not  a  fragment  of  activity  —  not  a  prayer  of  faith,  can 
be  lost.  Borrow  inspiration  to  your  zeal  from  the  prospect 
of  the  latter  day  glory,  which  you  are  to  be  the  means  of 


292  MILLENNIAL    STATE    OF    THE    CHTJ^CH. 

producing.  Let  the  groans  of  an  unregenerated  world  melt 
and  move  you  to  the  most  intense  pity  ;  and  let  the  antici- 
pated shouts  of  a  redeemed  one  awaken  all  the  energies  of 
zeal  and  hope.  What  is  wanted  —  and  all  that  is  want- 
ed, UNDER  God's  blessing,  for  the  world's  con^'ersion  to 
Christ,  is  —  an«earnest  Ministry,  and  an  earnest  Church. 
May  they  both  and  all  awake  to  a  deep  sense  of  their 
duty,  and  a  holy  ambition  to  perform  it,  combined  at  the 
same  time  with  a  believing  confidence  in  the  truth  of  the 
Divine  promise,  and  the  all-sufficiency  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 


Princeton  Theoloqical  Seminary  Libraries 


1    1012   01235   9503 


